Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

Xiao Ran nodded in agreement with the little princess, "Okay, this is me, shall we write my name on it too?"

The little princess volunteered, "I'll write it!"

Xiao Ran handed the charcoal block to the little princess, "Then Si Zi can write it."

The little princess held the coal and thought for a long time before finally writing the three characters "小郎君" (Little Gentleman).

Because she can't write Xiao Ran's name yet.

However, the little princess was quite satisfied.

"I've finished writing!"

The little princess looked at Xiao Ran with a smile, and Xiao Ran praised, "Si Zi is really amazing."

The little princess was pleased with the praise.

Taking advantage of the situation, Xiao Ran coaxed, "How about we go inside and rest for a while? It'll get cold if we stay outside for too long."

The little princess nodded, stepped forward, took Xiao Ran's hand, and went into the house with him.

Princess Chengyang and her friends also rushed in.

Li Lizhi and the others quickly took care of the younger children, while Xiao Ran helped the little princess take off her gloves and then let her change her clothes.

Xiao Ran sat in the room for a while, then got up and went to find Zhang Mingde.

"Muramasa!" Xiao Ran greeted Zhang Mingde as he entered the house.

Zhang Mingde smiled kindly.

"Young master, is there something you need? Do you need someone to do the work?"

The village head isn't short of money, but the villagers are. If he can help the villagers earn some money, he'll have a lot less to worry about.

However, Xiao Ran didn't come here to find someone to do work, but he didn't disappoint Zhang Mingde.

"I came here this time to collect some pig bristles."

Zhang Mingde was a little puzzled, but since Xiao Ran wanted it, he didn't press the matter. He simply said, "I'm afraid everyone has some pig bristles, but I'll tell my eldest son to go and collect them."

Xiao Ran nodded, "That would be perfect, but the price is really hard to set."

Zhang Mingde waved his hand, "Why talk about price when nobody wants it?"

Xiao Ran quickly refused, saying, "That won't do. I need a large quantity, and it's a long-term commitment. How about you let your eldest son set the price?"

Xiao Ran trusted that Zhang Mingde wouldn't ask for more.

Zhang Mingde hadn't intended to ask, but now that Xiao Ran was saying it was a large-scale, long-term acquisition, he was puzzled.

"Excuse my bluntness, young master, why do you need so many pig bristles?"

Xiao Ran didn't hide anything from him. Once the pig bristles arrived, there would be a lot of work to do, such as cleaning and tidying them up. So he said, "I plan to make toothbrushes and build a workshop."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingde narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "Then how many people does the young master need for this workshop?"

This sounded like a long-term business, and Zhang Mingde was already thinking about which company to hire for the work.

Xiao Ran thought for a moment and said, "It seems that we will need about three or four people at the moment, but we will have to wait until the first batch of toothbrushes is made and see how the sales go to make a more specific decision."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Mingde said, "So, young master, have you decided how to sell this toothbrush?"

Xiao Ran naturally understood Zhang Mingde's thoughts. Although his family owned a grain store, it didn't mean that a grain store couldn't sell other things.

However, this time Xiao Ran did not get his way.

"The Duke of Ji's family owns a shop."

Toothbrushes may seem insignificant, but they are a daily necessity, so they're sure to sell well.

Although this product is simple and people will probably figure it out quickly, Xiao Ran doesn't care at all; his main product is still toothpaste.

Xiao Ran even plans to sell any gadgets related to people's livelihoods that he develops in the future.

These little gadgets won't make you a lot of money.

Of course, this "big money" refers to Xiao Ran.

Hearing Xiao Ran's refusal, Zhang Mingde didn't say much, but simply nodded and said, "Young master, don't worry, leave the pig bristle matter to me."

Xiao Ran cupped his hands in thanks to Zhang Mingde, "Then thank you very much, Village Chief."

After saying that, Xiao Ran put down a piece of beef.

"This beef is meant to be kept for later consumption."

Zhang Mingde said with a smile, "This beef is rare, thank you very much, young man."

Xiao Ran waved his hand and then walked out.

After Xiao Ran left, Qin Shi came out from the inner room.

"Young master, you've got another business opportunity?"

Zhang Mingde nodded. "Let's save this beef for stewing tonight."

The servants nearby naturally took the beef and went to the kitchen.

When Xiao Ran returned home, he found two more snowmen in the yard, presumably because the little princess and the others had run out to play for a while again.

However, Xiao Ran didn't pay any attention to it. Instead, he went to the kitchen and brought back the dried beef jerky.

The beef jerky has already been cut into small pieces and wrapped in parchment paper.

We made a lot of beef jerky back then, enough to fill two large bags.

Xiao Ran took the oil paper package and went into the house.

"Sizi Fanyin Seventeen! Third Sister Yan Yao Di Renjie! Come out and eat something delicious!"

As soon as Xiao Ran shouted, the little ones who were playing inside immediately ran out.

"Little Nang-kun~ I want to be good to you~"

The little princess spotted the oil paper package in Xiao Ran's hand at a glance.

Xiao Ran placed the oil paper package on the table and opened one of the packages.

"Eat up, there's enough for everyone."

At this moment, Li Lizhi, Zhang Erya, and Princess Yuzhang also came over.

"Is this the beef jerky we made that day?" Li Lizhi picked one up and looked at it.

Xiao Ran nodded. "Yes, let's try it and see how it is."

As he spoke, Xiao Ran picked one up and tasted it himself; the taste was somewhat unexpected.

Because the little princesses were there, the beef jerky wasn't made spicy, but rather savory and salty.

But since it was his first time making it, Xiao Ran thought that he could just make it so that the little ones could chew on it occasionally. He didn't expect it to taste so good.

Li Lizhi was somewhat surprised as she ate the beef jerky.

"I never expected this beef jerky to be so delicious."

Princess Yuzhang also liked the taste of beef jerky, but looking at the oil paper package that Xiao Ran put down, she said, "There was so much beef that day, how come there's only this little bit?"

Xiao Ran smiled and said, "Making beef jerky is very resource-intensive. It's good if two pounds of beef can yield one pound of beef jerky."

Princess Yuzhang nodded, "Although it uses a lot of beef, it is really delicious. I wonder when we will be able to buy beef again."

At this time, the pigs were all local black pigs, which had tough meat and a fishy smell, so nobody ate them. If you wanted to eat meat, besides some wild game, chicken, duck, or beef, it was the only option.

However, cattle are not allowed to be slaughtered privately. They can only be slaughtered for food or sold after being reported to the government if they have died for various reasons or are confirmed to be unable to survive.

Xiao Ran thought about his plan to collect pig bristles. He figured that if someone sold pig bristles, they would probably think about how to cook them into meat, otherwise it would be a waste to throw the meat away.

However, Xiao Ran was not worried about collecting pig bristles. Wild boars would damage crops, and whether he collected pig bristles or not, there would be local hunting teams that would hunt wild boars.

Pigskin is also a good thing; it can be used to make leather shoes that won't get wet in rain or snow.

With that thought in mind, Xiao Ran got up and went to Zhang Mingde's house again to tell him not to forget to bring back the pigskin as well. After receiving Zhang Mingde's reply, he returned home.

But when I got back, I found that there were a few more snowmen in the yard.

Xiao Ran scratched his head. How come Si Zi and the others ran out to play as soon as he went out?
"Little Nang-kun~ Nifei's here~"

The little princess ran towards Xiao Ran, holding up a piece of beef jerky. "Little Nangjun Qi~"

Xiao Ran was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't eat any beef jerky. The little princess saw this and, now that Xiao Ran is back, she immediately makes him eat some too.

Xiao Ran picked up the little princess and asked, "Did Sizi go out to build a snowman just now?"

The little princess shook her head, "I don't have any~"

Xiao Ran asked curiously, "Why are there a few more snowmen in the yard? Could it be that these snowmen are actually making themselves?"

The thought of several snowmen gathering together and then using snow to build another snowman is somewhat terrifying.

Li Lizhi was amused by Xiao Ran's imaginative idea when she heard this.

"Young master, what nonsense are you talking about? Can this snowman even move?"

Xiao Ran looked at Li Lizhi, "Do you know what happened?"

Li Lizhi said with a smile, "Zhang Jia Dalang and the others just came back. When they saw the snowmen in the yard and heard Sizi and the others say that they wanted to build snowmen for everyone, they said they would build one for themselves too. That's how these snowmen came to be."

Xiao Ran glanced out the window and indeed, the extra snowmen were all larger.

I didn't expect them to still have this childlike heart.

To say that Cheng Yaojin was capable of doing such a thing is one thing, but it's unexpected that Zhang Dalang, who is usually so steady, would also join in the fun.

Princess Yuzhang looked outside and said excitedly, "Why don't we go and build a snowman too!"

Li Lizhi and Zhang Erya were also somewhat interested.

Xiao Ran smiled and said, "Go if you want to, there's plenty of snow anyway."

Li Lizhi originally thought that building snowmen was something only children did; she was already grown up and should be more mature.

But then she thought again, she was no longer a princess of the Tang Dynasty, but Li Lizhi.

So Li Lizhi happily put on another layer of clothing, and then went out with Zhang Erya and Princess Yuzhang to build a snowman.

The little princess saw Li Lizhi go out to build a snowman and couldn't sit still any longer.

"Little Nang-kun~ Let's go play too~"

Xiao Ran touched the little princess's hand; its temperature was normal, neither cold nor hot, so he nodded.

"Okay, but if you feel cold, you must tell me, okay? Otherwise you'll get sick and have to drink bitter medicine."

Xiao Ran had said this more than once, and the little princess nodded again.

"Woji Island~"

Xiao Ran then looked at the other little ones.

"You guys too, it's fine to go out and have fun, but come back when you get cold, and tell us if you feel unwell."

The little ones nodded quickly, and Xiao Ran watched them change their clothes before letting them go out to play.

Li Lizhi, one of the three older children, led the younger ones to build a snowman. Xiao Ran went to the kitchen to have them prepare ginger soup, and then followed them there.

The little princess looked at the snowman and counted on her fingers how many were missing.

Third Sister pointed to a large snowman and said, "This one should have a beard."

Xiao Ran asked, "Why do you need a beard?"

Third Sister touched her non-existent beard.

“Those old men have beards.”

Xiao Ran immediately realized that Third Sister was referring to Yu Shinan and the others.

However, the old men didn't come out often, so Third Sister couldn't tell them apart.

Li Lizhi picked up a twig and drew a few lines on the snowball.

"Okay, now you have a beard."

Afterwards, the group built several more snowmen with drawn mustaches on them.

After all the snowmen were built, they almost filled the entire yard.

The little princess clapped her hands happily.

"So many snowman ducks~ So pretty~"

Xiao Ran looked at it but couldn't see what was so good about it. However, since the little princess said it was good, then it was good.

"Let's go back inside," Xiao Ran said.

So the group went back inside, and as soon as they got back, each person was given a bowl of hot ginger soup.

The little princess sipped the ginger soup slowly, occasionally sticking out her little tongue.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran asked, "What's wrong, Sizi? Is it too hot?"

The little princess shook her head, "This is spicy!"

Xiao Ran laughed, "Of course the ginger soup is spicy, but Si Zi has to drink it all obediently, or she'll get sick."

The little princess nodded and obediently finished drinking.

Even if Xiao Ran hadn't said anything, the little princess would have finished it anyway.

Because sugar was added to the ginger soup, although the ginger flavor was a bit strong and it was also a little spicy, it tasted sweet, and the little princess quite liked it.

After drinking the ginger soup, everyone broke out in a sweat.

This time, Xiao Ran didn't let them run around aimlessly; he just let them sit on the kang (a heated brick bed) and play.

Princess Chengyang and Third Sister are playing cat's cradle, while Princess Gaoyang and Yan Yao are building blocks together.

Di Renjie, on the other hand, was reading a book.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran asked, "Aren't you going to play with them?"

Di Renjie shook his head. "I want to read."

Xiao Ran glanced at the contents of the book. He wasn't very close to it, so he couldn't see the words clearly, but judging from the pictures below, it seemed to be a book about herbs. He figured it must have been given to him by Sun Simiao.

Seeing that Di Renjie was engrossed in watching, Xiao Ran did not disturb him, but turned around to find Li Lizhi and the others.

"Xiao Langjun."

Li Lizhi and the others were still sewing dolls when they saw Xiao Ran arrive, at which point they put down their needles and thread.

"Is there something you need, young master?" Li Li asked.

Xiao Ran smiled and said, "Are you still sewing dolls?"

Li Lizhi nodded, "Of course we need to have several children, but we've only sewed four so far."

Xiao Ran said, "In that case, after you finish sewing the doll, make me a sandbag. Find some scraps of cloth, sew them together, and then put some millet or something similar inside. Something with some weight but not too heavy will do."

"This is very easy to sew," Li Lizhi readily agreed. Zhang Erya said, "No need to wait until it's finished, I'll sew it now. This sounds simple."

Just as Xiao Ran was about to speak, he saw the little princess running over with her short legs.

"Little Nang-kun~ When are we going to have our seventh meal~"

Xiao Ran checked the time and asked, "Is Sizi hungry?"

The little princess nodded and touched her tummy.

I'm hungry!

It was almost time for dinner, so Xiao Ran told them to start eating.

Another satisfying dinner.

After dinner, Xiao Ran played with the little princesses for a while before deciding to go back to sleep.

Xiao Ran stretched and was about to go to sleep when he caught a glimpse of what looked like a bunch of people standing outside the window.

"I go!"

Xiao Ran was startled, and upon closer inspection, he realized that it was the group of snowmen they had built during the day.

"That scared me to death! This yard full of snowmen is so eerie!" (End of Chapter)