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

When Xiao Ran returned home, he saw Di Renjie.

"Young master," Di Renjie greeted Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran looked at Di Renjie and, not noticing anything amiss, joked, "Why are you only arriving today? Did you not want to go to class?"

Di Renjie quickly shook his head.

"No, it's... my grandfather forgot the time."

Di Renjie touched his nose. He did remember that he had class today. He had originally planned to come back yesterday, but unfortunately, his father was out all day yesterday, busy with something, and did not come back.

He couldn't move over by himself, so it had to be delayed until today.

Xiao Ran patted Di Renjie's head.

"It's alright. Since that's the case, we won't go today. You can come with me and make popsicles."

"Ice popsicles?" Filled with curiosity about ice lanterns, Di Renjie followed Xiao Ran toward a corner of the courtyard.

Xiao Ran explained, "This popsicle is a kind of food. It's best to eat it in the summer, but it's fine to eat it now, especially while sitting on the kang (heated brick bed)."

As he spoke, Xiao Ran took out bamboo tubes again, but this time there were quite a few. He planned to make more, and freeze the ones he couldn't finish.

Di Renjie followed behind Xiao Ran, who taught him how to make popsicles step by step.

Today I made not only red bean paste, but also mung bean paste and milk paste.

By the time they finished, the little princesses had already finished school.

Upon seeing Di Renjie there, the children quickly surrounded him, chattering excitedly as they asked him why he hadn't gone to class today.

Di Renjie explained very patiently.

After he finished explaining, a group of little ones surrounded Xiao Ran again.

Looking at the bamboo tube, the little princess pointed and said, "Ice cream~"

Xiao Ran nodded, "Yes, it's popsicles. This time we also made milk-flavored ones. You'll definitely like them."

The little ones cheered, wishing they could stand there forever and watch the popsicles take shape.

Only Di Renjie had never eaten an ice pop before, and he didn't understand why the little princesses were so excited.

But when he ate popsicles that evening, he understood.

The milk popsicles are for the little princess and Di Renjie.

Compared to yesterday's red bean popsicles, the milk popsicles are sweeter and better suited the kids' tastes.

"This is so good!" the little princess said, biting into a milk popsicle.

Yesterday, the little princess couldn't even bite into the red bean popsicle, but this milk popsicle softened after just a little while. The little princess took a big bite and shivered.

She even reached out her little hand and touched her forehead.

"So nice and cold!"

Then he brought his head close to Xiao Ran's chest.

"Little Nangjun, quickly touch it~ It's so cold~"

Xiao Ran smiled and placed his hand on the little princess's forehead. It was indeed cool, so he teased her on purpose, "Yeah, it's too cold. Let's not eat it then."

He then pretended to take the popsicle from her hand, which startled the little princess, who quickly put the popsicle in her mouth and mumbled, "Meow~ Qiguangguang~"

Seeing the little princess's possessive behavior towards her food, everyone around her burst out laughing.

Princess Chengyang acted like a big sister. Seeing that the little princess had finished her popsicle and was still staring longingly outside, she said softly, "Sizi, you can have mine. Here, have mine."

Before the little princess could speak, Xiao Ran shook his head and said, "Fanyin, you can eat by yourself. Sizi can't eat anymore, or she'll get a stomachache."

Although the little princess wanted to eat, she knew that Xiao Ran was doing it for her own good, and she didn't want to compete with her second sister for food.

"Second Sister Qi~ I don't want to eat it~" She said she wouldn't eat it, but her mouth was practically watering as she shook her head.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran took the beef jerky from the side.

"How about Sizi eats beef jerky?"

"Good~"

The little princess happily took the beef jerky and slowly rubbed it in her mouth.

Beef jerky is the perfect way to pass the time, especially for a little princess with a sweet tooth. She can nibble on a piece of beef jerky for a long time without filling her stomach, and she can even eat it after dinner. Plus, it tastes good, so the little princess loves it.

However, beef is rare, so Xiao Ran plans to make chicken jerky after he finishes the beef jerky, which will taste just as good.

After the little ones finished their popsicles, Xiao Ran sent them off to bed.

After they left, Li Lizhi said, "The Lantern Festival is in a few days. Young master, have you decided how you want to celebrate it?"

At this time, the Lantern Festival was not as lively, and there were no established lantern festivals. The only difference was that the curfew was lifted on this day, so the East and West Markets were more bustling.

Lanterns certainly existed, but they were mostly for the enjoyment of ordinary people. Even lantern riddles weren't available everywhere; they were only played by a few scholars who gathered together to solve them.

Xiao Ran nodded, "Let's go to the West Market together for the Lantern Festival, and I'll take you to eat tangyuan (sweet rice balls)."

Li Lizhi was somewhat puzzled, "Tangyuan?"

Xiao Ran paused for a moment, then slapped his forehead.

“I forgot, I don’t think we eat tangyuan now. What do you eat for the Lantern Festival? I remember there’s something similar to tangyuan called yuanzi, but without filling.”

Li Lizhi shook her head. "The food we eat during the Lantern Festival is no different from usual, except that we eat a little better, mostly porridge and congee."

A word I've never heard before.

What is "paste and porridge"?

Li Lizhi smiled and said, "It's just meat porridge."

Xiao Ran understood.

"Oh, I see. It seems there's no fixed custom like that yet. Would you like to eat tangyuan? If so, we'll make some."

Li Lizhi was very curious about glutinous rice balls.

"Do you think these glutinous rice balls are delicious?"

Xiao Ran nodded, "It's delicious. It's made by putting black sesame seeds or crushed peanuts inside, along with white sugar and glutinous rice balls, and then cooking them in a pot. It tastes sweet."

Hearing Xiao Ran's description, Li Lizhi couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

Zhuque Street, West Market.

It was already night, but the lights were still on.

Today is the Lantern Festival, and there are pedestrians and various stalls everywhere.

Xiao Ran and his group moved through the crowd, attracting countless gazes.

Because the lanterns held by the group of people were so eye-catching.

The little ones were holding lanterns shaped like rabbits and stars, which they wanted, while Xiao Ran, Li Lizhi, Cheng Cheng, and the other adults were holding lanterns of a more grand and simple design, which were still eye-catching.

Because you can tell at a glance that these lanterns are all made of glass!

A single glass lamp is incredibly expensive, let alone so many. Many people avoid them, afraid of accidentally bumping into their lamps and breaking them, which they can't afford to pay for.

However, this made things easier for Xiao Ran and his group, making their journey much more comfortable.

The group walked and stopped intermittently, finally halting in front of a foreign merchant's stall. (End of Chapter)