Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 326: The birth is imminent, the Xiao family, which is full of talented people, urgently gathers

December 15, the second year of Daxia
Shortly after nightfall, in the front yard reception room of the Xiao Mansion in the inner city.

The hostess Lin Lan was setting up a family banquet with two maids.

"Here, this dish is prepared for Ning'er, put it over here."

"Xiaoyue, go to the kitchen and get three bottles of aged wine."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Xiao Ping, go check if the stew is ready. Bring it over when it's ready."

"I'll be right there, ma'am."

"The banquet is about to start. Let me see if there's anything missing!"

………………

Although she was so busy that she couldn't stop, Lin Lan was in high spirits with a smile on her face all the time, and it was obvious that she was enjoying the whole process.

"Dad, Mom, my eldest and second sisters are here, come quickly!"

Suddenly, a loud shout from his son Xiao Heng was heard from the front gate.

Lin Lan quickly put down what she was doing, then took two maids, washed her hands hastily, and quickly walked towards the front door.

In the main hall, four middle-aged men just walked out. The one leading the group was Lin Lan's husband Xiao Kangcheng. The one closest to him was Xiao Yuan. The remaining two looked similar to Xiao Kangcheng and were obviously his brothers.

A large group of people also rushed out from the side hall. They were three women leading fifteen boys and girls. Their faces were full of curiosity. They followed Xiao Kangcheng and the other three and walked towards the front gate.

"Sister Ning and Sister Yu are here. I haven't seen them for a long time."

"You can't call me that anymore. You have to call me Madam."

"Yes, yes, you should call her Madam. I heard that the Second Madam has just achieved a breakthrough and is now the third female cold-resistant level in Xiacheng!"

"It happened three days ago. My uncle and his family went to see it in person."

"Isn't the Second Madam still pregnant?"

"It was because of your big belly that uncle and his family were worried. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. Today's family dinner is to celebrate the breakthrough of the Second Madam."

"And Uncle Yuan, he also broke through last night. Uncle, Uncle Yuan, and the eldest lady, our Xiao family now has five people at the Cold Resistance level."

"Soon there won't be just that many, Uncle Two and Uncle Three will be there soon too!"

………………

"Ahem... shut up, don't be rude to the lady!"

When Xiao Kangcheng, the head of the family, spoke, all the women and young people immediately shut up and followed him obediently to the front door.

However, before he could walk out, Xiao Heng came in with a group of people.

Xiao Ning, who was at the front, was pregnant and had trouble walking.
Xiao Yu, who was next to her, had only a slightly bulging belly, and it was obvious that she was pregnant.

Both of them were supported by two maids and walked very slowly.

Xiao Kangcheng first glared at his son Xiao Heng, blaming him for bringing people in first, and then he led the whole family to the two daughters, bowing respectfully:

"Greetings, ladies!"

"Hey, Dad, Mom, Uncle Yuan, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and all the aunts, what are you doing? Get up, get up."

"If you keep doing this, my elder sister and I won't dare come back again!"

Seeing their parents and uncle leading the whole family to pay their respects to them, Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu suddenly became angry and hurriedly asked everyone to stand up.

Seeing his parents and others standing up, Xiao Ning said angrily, "Xia Li is too inhumane. He wants to make family members so distant!"

Xiao Ning knew very well the reason why his father and others saluted him. It was because of the provisions of the nine-level nobility system in the ritual system chapter of the four chapters of Xia Li.

Nowadays, the daily behavioral norms of everyone in the Great Xia camp are almost all subject to the constraints of Xia etiquette. The nine-level nobility system in the etiquette system stipulates that commoners must perform subordinate etiquette when meeting a noble, and lower-level nobility must also perform subordinate etiquette when meeting higher-level nobility.

Her husband Xia Chuan was granted the title of the eighth-rank Viscount Chixiao, and she and Xiao Yu were both granted the title of the eighth-rank ladies. Xiao Kangcheng was the ninth-rank Viscount Xuanling, and according to Xiali regulations, he had to pay his respects to both of them.

Although this is the rule, the two girls naturally felt bad when they saw their parents bowing to them, so they couldn't help but blame Xia Li for being a bit inhumane.

Xiao Kangcheng saw things more clearly than the other two. He smiled and waved his hand, saying, "The new rules have just been issued. It won't be wrong to strictly abide by them. Doesn't Xia Li include the etiquette between father and son? I guess there will be adjustments and revisions in the future."

When Xiao Ning heard this, she immediately remembered that Xia Chuan had mentioned this before, and nodded immediately, smiling, "Father sees it more clearly than his daughter. My husband did say this. The etiquette between father and son should take precedence over the etiquette of the nobility system."

"Oh, stop standing at the door. I can hardly stand. Come in and sit down first!"

Xiao Yu was a straightforward person, and he urged everyone to go in right away.

"Okay, okay, Yu'er has spoken, everyone go in and take a seat!"

Xiao Kangcheng knew his second daughter's temperament, so he immediately smiled and waved his hand to invite everyone in.

Lin Lan couldn't help it any longer, and immediately rushed to Xiao Ning, took the place of the maid to hold the hands of the two, and looked at her eldest daughter with a face full of pity.

"Ning'er, I told Heng'er to pick you up, why did you come here by yourself? You're going to give birth next month, so you have to be careful and don't hurt my grandson!"

Seeing Lin Lan looking nervous, several aunts came over, some supporting her, some chatting with her, like a group of stars surrounding the moon, protecting Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu tightly as they walked towards the reception room.

"Oh, mother, I'm not that weak. I'm just pregnant with a child. You gave birth to three of us, but you didn't seem so nervous. And my three aunts all gave birth to four or five children. They didn't seem so exaggerated!"

Hearing Xiao Ning's words, Lin Lan criticized: "How can it be the same? You are carrying a big baby in your belly. I heard from Heng'er that even his name was given by his uncle himself. My little Yu Zong will be a first-class nobleman in Da Xia in the future."

Lin Lan became more and more proud as she spoke, and the three women next to her also started to joke with her.

"That's not the case. The Lord personally named it before it came out. This kind of favor is unique in our Great Xia."

"There are more than 400,000 people in Xiacheng. Who can be more precious than our Xiaoyu Sect?"

"It's not the noble son, it's obviously the young Si Cheng, hahahaha!"

………………

Hearing the flattery from her three younger siblings, Lin Lan's smile naturally widened.

At the beginning, Xia Hong had chosen two names, the boy was named Yu Zong and the girl was named Yu Ning. Everyone obviously assumed that Xiao Ning was pregnant with a boy and did not even mention the name Yu Ning.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone walked into the reception room and sat down one by one.

Today was the Xiao family dinner, and everyone present was from the Xiao clan. Xiao Kangcheng, the head of the family, naturally sat in the main seat, and next to him was his wife Lin Lan, while his two daughters Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu sat on either side of them.

Next came his cousin Xiao Yuan and his wife, as well as his two younger brothers Xiao Kangyue and Xiao Kangjian, and their respective wives;

Further down are the current second generation descendants of the Xiao family. His son Xiao Heng is also among them, Xiao Lin, Xiao Jing, Xiao Cen, Xiao Yue, Xiao Yan, Xiao Qing... a total of sixteen people.

"Tonight is a family dinner to celebrate Yu'er and Yuan's breakthrough to the Cold Resistance level. There aren't many rules. Now that everyone is here, let's start the dinner!"

Xiao Kangcheng spoke, and everyone picked up their chopsticks with a smile, and a happy family dinner began.

Seeing such a large family, Xiao Kangcheng couldn't help but sigh. Thinking back to a year ago, they were still leading more than a thousand people in Wuyuan Mountain and living a hard life. Compared to now, it was like a dream.

The twenty-six people present today are considered the entire Xiao family.

At the Cold-Resistant level alone, there are four people, him, Xiao Yuan, Xiao Ning, and Xiao Yu; his two younger brothers, Xiao Kangyue and Xiao Kangjian, have also reached the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, and have just been selected into the Longwu Army and become battalion-level lieutenants. It is estimated that it won't take long for them to break through to the Cold-Resistant level.

Among the sixteen second-generation disciples, seven were at the Digging Realm. His son Xiao Heng had just achieved a good result of 18th place in the Lumberjack Realm group martial arts competition in June, and was the best among them. The remaining eleven were all talented considering their age, and there was even a good seedling who could soon break the record for the Digging Realm.

Today, the Xiao family is strong enough to occupy a place in the upper echelons of Da Xia just by virtue of its own strength. If we add the two wives of the prime ministers, Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu, it is no exaggeration to say that the Xiao family has become one of the top wealthy families in Da Xia.

With a life like this, what more could one ask for!
"Yu'er congratulates Uncle Yuan on his breakthrough. From now on, our Xiaoshan team will have four cold-resistant level warriors. After my eldest sister gives birth, we can also try to hunt high-level cold beasts. Then, maybe we can form a Xiaoshan army!"

When Xiao Kangcheng was expressing his emotion, he heard his daughter Xiao Yu's words. He was a little moved at first, but after thinking for a moment, he shook his head and quickly calmed down.

Xiao Yuan bowed and smiled, "Uncle Yuan is so old, it's only natural for him to break through. But you, Yu'er, have broken through so early, your future is probably limitless, it should be Uncle Yuan who congratulates you!"

Hearing Xiao Yuan's words, Xiao Kangyue and Xiao Kangjian couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency in their hearts. Their age was not much different from Xiao Yuan. In the past, they were all in the Digging Realm, so it was nothing. Now that their eldest brother and Xiao Yuan had both broken through, they naturally felt that they were lagging behind.

As for the other dozen or so juniors below, they were all looking at the four people above with envy, their eyes full of desire for the Cold-Resistant Level.

"Dad, three days ago, the Martial Arts Academy issued a notice to stop the quota for us Digging Realm people. Do you know what happened?"

Xiao Heng was a little bolder and asked Xiao Kangcheng directly about the recent reduction in the number of Digging Realm places in the Martial Arts Academy. Upon hearing this, the other Xiao disciples also raised their heads curiously, and it was obvious that they were very concerned about this issue.

Xiao Kangcheng frowned, probably thinking that his son was asking questions without any reason, and subconsciously wanted to scold him.

Xiao Ning saw what her father was thinking. In order to prevent her brother from being scolded, she spoke first and scolded him, "You little brat, you have so many problems every day. Do I need to explain to you the order given by Qiu Sizheng?"

Xiao Yu was a bit careless and said directly: "I heard that it was because of the matter at the Beehive. The Lord personally issued an order. During this period, the quota of the Martial Arts Academy was allocated to the Digging Realm Limit, so as to allow as many people as possible to break through to the Cold Resistance Level first." "That's true. I heard that there are many high-level cold beasts at the Beehive. The Lord is personally in charge there, and a large number of Cold Resistance Levels are needed to help."

"The Dragon Warriors will set out for the Hive the day after tomorrow. A very small number of people whose membranes are almost reshaped have been left behind. I heard that they are asked to practice in the Martial Arts Academy first, and after breaking through to the Cold Resistance Level, they can go to the Hive to help!"

Xiao Kangyue and Xiao Kangjian happened to be at the extreme end of the Digging Realm. They had obviously heard about this matter and nodded and interjected.

"No wonder, I keep hearing loud laughter coming from the martial arts academy recently. Someone must have broken through to the cold-resistant level. Big sister, there should be more than a hundred people in Daxia who are at the cold-resistant level now, right?"

Hearing Xiao Heng's question, Xiao Yu immediately smiled and said, "We have had them for a long time. When Lord October was discussing matters in the Council Hall, there were almost ninety of them. In the past two months, there have been at least a dozen breakthroughs. I estimate that our Great Xia now has more than 120 people at the Cold Resistance level."

hiss…………

Not to mention the second-generation kids, even Xiao Kangyue and Xiao Kangjian couldn't help but gasp when they heard this astonishing number.

"Otherwise, how could the Longwu Squad be promoted to an advanced hunting team so quickly and obtain the qualification to establish an army? I heard that last month, three members of their team alone broke through to the cold-resistant level."

Hearing Xiao Yu's words, Xiao Kangyue immediately nodded and said, "Indeed, in addition to the commander-in-chief Yuwen Tao, the Longwu Army also has four battalion-level lieutenants who are also at the Warmth-Proofing Level. Among them, Zhou Yuan and Hou Quan are new recruits from Longyou, and the other two are brought directly from the Longwu Squad."

The hunting team and the army are two systems. After the Longwu Army was established, the Longwu Squad did not disappear. Yuwen Tao must have left behind some elite troops to maintain the strength of the Longwu Squad.

A total of three people broke through to the cold-resistant level. Yuwen Tao only took two to the Longwu Army and kept one at the cold-resistant level. As long as they recruited people slowly and Yuwen Tao sent people to help from time to time, it would not be too difficult to maintain the reputation of the high-level hunting team.

Xiao Ning noticed that his father Xiao Kangcheng was a little cold. He remembered that when Xiao Yu mentioned the establishment of the Xiaoshan Army, his father's face was very calm. He immediately asked curiously, "Father, don't you want to establish the Xiaoshan Army?"

Xiao Kangcheng shook his head slightly. We are all men. Who doesn't want to command thousands of troops and achieve great achievements on the battlefield? He is no exception.

It's just that he sees things more clearly than his daughter.

"I don't think I can do it in the short term. There are more than a dozen teams that are trying to become high-level hunting teams, including Tiger and Leopard, Dragon Slayer, Falcon, Steel Mane, Golden Eagle, Xuanwu, Shenwu, Zhenwu, Xiongwu... These teams will definitely be qualified to establish an army before the Xiaoshan team. Even if I really want to establish the Xiaoshan Army, I'm afraid I will have to wait behind these people. It will probably take several years to establish all these armies. I'm not in a hurry..."

When Xiao Ning heard this, he was stunned at first, but he quickly reacted and nodded.

Xiaoshan is a mid-level team. Among the many teams under the Hunting Department, its strength is in the third echelon. It is indeed no match for the teams my father just mentioned.

The key point is that there are too many teams waiting to be established. Even if my father tries hard and leads the Xiaoshan team to a high level, it is probably not his turn to establish an army.

"There are only more than 40,000 people in the Digging Realm in the camp now. The Digging Realm is not easy to find. It is not easy to build an army. The Longwu Army was able to be built so quickly because of the large influx of people from Longyou. There are many people in the Digging Realm who have reached the Digging Realm. I estimate that it will take at least until the middle of next year to build the third army."

Hearing his father's words, Xiao Ning nodded and said, "The Lord said that after Daxia has five armies, he will add a new military department in addition to the seven departments. My husband mentioned it once before, saying that the establishment of the military department will probably have to wait until next year!"

Xiao Yuan couldn't help but speak at this time.

"Moreover, the camp should not need so many troops. The troops can only be used to hunt low- and medium-level cold beasts. Hunting high-level cold beasts still depends on small-scale teams composed of cold-resistant level soldiers. I estimate that the lord will definitely limit the number of troops in the end, and will not increase them unless the population reaches a certain size!"

It is estimated that there is no need for restrictions. Every additional army will require a huge amount of blood essence pills, hundred-forged iron armor, hundred-forged weapons, beast blood... These resources are not easy to obtain even for the current Daxia.

As far as Xiao Ning knew, the weapons and armor currently used by the Longwu Army soldiers were the ones captured from Longyou. If they kept adding more troops, the camp would definitely not be able to cope.

"Well, let's not talk about this. With my elder sister and I here, the Xiaoshan Army will eventually come into being. It will be there sooner or later. Aren't those garrisons in Longyou investigating the scattered camps in the territory during this period? I see new people coming into Xiacheng every day. When the population is sufficient in the future, it will be time for my father to establish an army sooner or later."

Xiao Yu's words instantly eased the atmosphere a lot.

Xiao Kangcheng waved his hand and smiled, "I'm not that utilitarian. I'm living a very comfortable life now. Let's not talk about that. I recently ordered two three-bristle strong bows from the weapon refining workshop. I think they will be ready the day after tomorrow. Once I get them, I can lead the team to the depths of Redwood Ridge and try to hunt high-level cold beasts."

Xiao Yuan's face brightened when he heard the voice. Among the two three-bristled divine arm bows, one was obviously prepared for himself.

"It's a pity that when Longwu established the army, ten of our Xiaoshan team's Digging Realm masters were taken away. Otherwise, our hunting success rate would be much higher."

The Xiaoshan team originally had thirty-two people at the Digging Realm limit. With the addition of their two Cold-Resistant Realm people, it shouldn't be a problem for them to hunt down high-level cold beasts with weaker strengths.

But now there are only twenty-two people left, so it’s hard to say.

Xiao Kangjian and Xiao Kangyue were among the ten people who were selected. Upon hearing this, they both nodded with regret on their faces.

"Dad, I guess you won't be able to get those two three-bristle bows. Qiu Sizheng just issued an order two days ago that the weapon forging workshop should rush to make a batch of divine arm bows. I heard it's for something at the Hive. A total of 200 bows need to be made. Right now, all the materials for making bows have been used on these. Other orders will have to wait."

Xiao Kangcheng was shocked when he heard this and said, "Two hundred divine arm bows, are they going to make so many? Is the situation in the Hive so serious?"

The first Shenbi bow that Mu Dong forged had a pulling force of six bristles and was specially used for Lord Xia Hong. After the incorporation of Longyou, Mu Dong discovered many good materials for making bowstrings, and made several strong bows with a pulling force of more than five bristles in succession. From then on, Daxia now uniformly calls all strong bows with a pulling force of more than five bristles Shenbi bows.

He fought two hundred times in one breath. How many high-level cold beasts were there in the hive? Moreover, does Daxia have so many cold-resistant beasts with the strength of five manes or above now?
Xiao Yuan and the others reacted and looked at Xiao Ning in shock.

Xiao Ning nodded, a solemn look on his face, and said, "I heard that hundreds of high-level cold beasts have gathered in Yanglu Territory, all caused by that Bailu Gui. The matter of the quota for the Martial Arts Academy and the fact that the lord is stationed there are also for this matter. The Dragon Army will be there the day after tomorrow, and it is expected that all the cold-resistant level soldiers in the camp will be summoned before the New Year. There will definitely be a fierce battle then!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Kangcheng and others' expressions suddenly became serious.

There are hundreds of high-level cold beasts. It is only useful for the lord to be there. If anyone else goes there, they will probably be crushed to ashes in minutes.

"My and Yu'er's divine arm bows were taken away by my husband. If they were still in his hands, we could give them to father."

Xiao Kangcheng waved his hands and said, "It doesn't matter. The batch of divine arm bows made by the quartermaster department are for us to use after all. It's just a matter of whether we get them sooner or later. You guys should keep your stuff for yourselves. What's the point of giving it to me?"

Xiao Kangcheng knew very well that his two daughters had a lot of good things in their hands. In order to prevent others from gossiping, he tried his best to prevent his family members from taking things from his daughters. He made such demands on his family members, let alone himself.

Xiao Ning knew his father's temper, so he didn't continue to dwell on this issue. He turned around and looked at the other second-generation disciples, and said, "I heard that our Xiao family is about to produce a little genius who will break the record of the Digging Realm. Introduce him to me, who is it?"

Upon hearing this, Second Uncle Xiao Kangyue immediately became excited. He pointed at a handsome kid who was less than ten years old at the end of the table and said with a smile, "This is my Yan'er. This kid is quite promising. He is still three months away from turning ten. I have sent him to the martial arts academy several times. Now his basic strength is more than 9,600 kilograms. At this rate, it should not be a problem for him to break through to the Digging Realm before he turns ten!"

Xiao Kangyue's wife, Lu Guixiang, also had a smile on her face at this time. She directly pulled her son Xiao Yan to stand up and said with a smile: "Yan'er, quickly salute the sisters and let the two sisters take a good look at you."

Xiao Yan, who was less than ten years old, was not at all nervous when being stared at by so many people. He stood up and walked to the side of the table, bowing to Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu:
"Yan'er greets elder sister and second sister!"

"Okay, okay, you're a good candidate. You can really break the record of the Digging Realm. I'll prepare a great gift for you!"

Who would have believed that he had broken through the Digging Realm before the age of ten in Wuyuan Mountain a year ago? The Xiao family could produce such a genius. Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu laughed so hard that their eyes could not close.

Of course, it wasn't just them. Xiao Kangcheng and the others, including the Xiao family members of the same generation as Xiao Yan, all had smiles on their faces, and were obviously happy from the bottom of their hearts.

"Ah Heng is not bad either. He broke through to the Digging Realm in the June Martial Arts Competition. Now his basic strength is 13,000. He has also joined the Mountain and River Squad, right?"

Xiao Yu was obviously worried that his brother would be left out, so he praised him as well.

Xiao Kangcheng nodded and said, "I asked him to stay with Xiao Lin in the second team. He just needs to go out with them to hunt low-level cold beasts on weekdays. These two guys have performed quite well and have not caused me any trouble."

The Shanhe Team is an intermediate hunting team with a full staff of fifty people. Xiao Kangcheng deliberately created Team One and Team Two. The Team One, led by him personally, can try to hunt high-level cold beasts. Team Two is weaker and specializes in hunting low-level cold beasts. It can be regarded as training a reserve army, so he simply let his son and nephews join.

The family chatted for a long time. Finally, as the night deepened, many people in the camp began to go out, and Xiao Ning also said goodbye at the right time.

"Dad, it's getting late. You'll have to get busy soon. Yu'er and I will go back first and won't disturb you anymore."

"It's not easy to come back, sit for a while and talk to mom!"

"Mom, we are all in the inner city, so close. If you miss us, why don't you just come to our house and find us? Why are you being so distant?"

Lin Lan was reluctant to let her daughter go and tried to persuade her to stay, but after hearing Xiao Ning's words, she didn't know what to say and could only nod.

Suddenly she thought of something, and pointed at the two maids beside her and said, "Ning'er is about to give birth, and Yu'er is also pregnant. I'll ask Xiaoyue and Xiaoping to go over and help. I don't need any maids here."

When Xiao Ning heard this, he immediately wanted to refuse, but before he could open his mouth, his mother pushed two maids over to him.

Xiao Kangcheng also nodded and said seriously: "I know you have many maids in your family. Your mother and I don't need any maids on a regular basis. Two more people means more manpower. It would be good to let them go over and help take care of you."

Seeing their father said so, Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu could no longer refuse. In order to reassure the two of them, they had to take the two maids back.

Everyone accompanied Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu all the way to the door before turning around and returning home.

"Dragon Warriors urgently assemble!"

"Dragon Warriors urgently assemble!"

"Dragon Warriors urgently assemble!"

…………

Xiao Kangcheng was just about to take Xiao Yuan and his two younger brothers back to the main hall to talk more when he suddenly heard a series of loud shouts coming from the street.

"Emergency assembly? Didn't we say we would leave for the Hive the day after tomorrow? Are we leaving early?"

"Brother, Brother Yuan, we are leaving first. Emergency assembly order. If you fail to reach the military camp within 20 breaths, you will be whipped 20 times. We are leaving first!"

Xiao Kangyue and Xiao Kangjian immediately bid farewell to Xiao Kangcheng and Xiao Yuan, and rushed towards the outer city military camp without looking back.

Xiao Kangcheng also knew that military orders were as heavy as a mountain, so he did not try to stop his two younger brothers. He just watched them walk away, then he sighed slightly, "You've been whipped twenty times before you've even reached the military camp for twenty breaths. Yuwen Sizheng is too strict in disciplining the army!"

Xiao Yuan on the side said with a smile: "The new army has just been established, so it is reasonable to be strict. Yuwen Sizheng has always wanted to compete with Sicheng. The Longwu Army was established half a year late. He must want to improve the combat effectiveness quickly, otherwise the gap with the Yunjiao Army will become larger and larger."

Xiao Kangcheng smiled when he heard this, and a hint of desire appeared in his eyes.

It was unknown when his Xiaoshan Army would be established.

(End of this chapter)