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

When they were making glass before, Xiao Ran had mentioned the temperature issue, which Cheng Chumo and the others naturally knew. The difficulty wasn't reaching 1400 degrees Celsius, but rather how to maintain that temperature and how to judge it.

Xiao Ran said, "To maintain the temperature, we can find some refractory pottery shards, coat them with a layer of glaze, and different glazes will show different colors at different temperatures. Then we can put the pottery shards into the kiln and judge the temperature by the color of the glaze."

"Young Master Cheng has the best ideas!" Cheng Chumo gave a thumbs up.

The matter was settled, and the kiln was cleared out. The raw materials were first crushed and ground. The acquired limestone, clay and iron ore powder were crushed and ground into fine powder, and then mixed evenly according to the proportion given by Xiao Ran.

By the time the raw materials were ready, it was already evening.

Xiao Ran glanced at the sky, then at the kiln, and took a deep breath: "Light the fire! Remember, the fire should be increased slowly, don't burn too fiercely all at once, and always pay attention to the color of the pottery shards in the kiln."

The person in charge of tending the furnace was a former glass worker, who immediately began working upon hearing the news.

Starting a fire is a long task, and it was definitely impossible to finish it tonight. So Xiao Ran and the others waited until very late and found that the ceramic pieces had only turned yellow, far from the red of 1400 degrees Celsius, so they went back to sleep.

Early the next morning, Xiao Ran and his companions headed toward the glass furnace where cement was being burned, and watched as the color of the pottery shards gradually turned deep red.

Xiao Ran nodded. "The temperature is about right. Control the fire and maintain this temperature. We can stop the fire after burning for another two hours."

During those two hours, Xiao Ran and the others didn't leave either, and Zhang Dalang would occasionally come over to take a look.

Finally, after two hours, Xiao Ran said, "That's enough, cease fire!"

The temperature inside the kiln needs to be cooled down slowly; the cement inside can't be taken out yet because it's too hot.

So, although they were anxious, Xiao Ran and the others could only wait.

After leaving the glass workshop, Xiao Ran and the others returned to the living room.

The raw materials from Li Shimin's side haven't arrived yet, and the original raw materials are still in the furnace. For now, research on cement can only be halted here.

"Little Nangjun~" The little princess ran over and blinked at Xiao Ran.

"What's wrong, Sizi?"

The little princess sighed like a little adult, "Little darling~ I want to go out and play~"

Xiao Ran asked patiently, "Where does Sizi want to go?"

The little princess pointed in the direction of the mountain.

"Let's go up the mountain!"

Xiao Ran asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why did Si Zi suddenly decide to go to the mountain?"

At this moment, Li Lizhi said, "Yesterday when Sizi was playing with those children, one of them brought some wild fruits and said that he picked them on the mountain. That's why Sizi remembered them."

Li Lizhi and her friends are still playing mahjong. This activity is so novel to them that they have been playing for several days, but they are not tired of it at all.

Having learned what had happened, Xiao Ran chuckled and pinched the little princess's cheek.

"You little glutton, so that's why you suddenly wanted to go up the mountain to play. It turns out it was to eat fruit!"

The little princess quickly covered her face and giggled.

"Seven Fruits Duck~"

That's not impossible, but with so many children in the family, it's definitely not enough for Xiao Ran to look after them all by himself. Fortunately, Di Renjie is steady and reliable, and San Niang is more familiar with the mountain, plus there's Sun Simiao.

Previously, when Xiao Ran sought out Sun Simiao, it was always because the swallows were injured, the rabbits were sick, or the pigs were not in good condition. Sun Simiao almost thought he was a veterinarian.

Now that Xiao Ran has arrived, Sun Simiao asks, "What happened to those two pigs?"

Xiao Ran waved his hand, "No, no, Si Zi wants to go up the mountain to play. Grandpa, would you like to go up the mountain to gather herbs?"

Sun Simiao thought for a moment and nodded, "Alright, I will go with you."

Although Li Lizhi also said she could go, her eyes were clearly glued to the mahjong game. So Xiao Ran smiled and said, "Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister, you two stay home and watch the house. The old man and I will take them with us."

As for Cheng Chumo and the other two, they were watching the furnace filled with cement.

Xiao Ran walked in front, and Sun Simiao was at the very back, with the little ones sandwiched in the middle.

The little princess looked up and around. Chirping birds hopped among the branches, colorful butterflies fluttered among the flowers, and unknown little insects hopped and skipped into the grass.

She would stop every now and then, pointing to the birds in the tree and asking Xiao Ran, "Little Nang~ what kind of bird is that~ it's so pretty~"

Xiao Ran looked in the direction the little princess was pointing. "That's a thrush. Its call is so beautiful, it's like singing. After we finish picking wild fruit, I'll teach you how to sing like a thrush, okay?"

"Okay, okay~"

The other little ones were also very interested in the thrush's call.

“Young master, we want to learn too,” said Princess Gaoyang.

Xiao Ran smiled and nodded, "I'll learn them all."

The group continued walking forward, chatting and laughing. The little princess skipped along, and was attracted by a purple wildflower by the roadside. She reached out to pick it, but Xiao Ran quickly stopped her.

"Sizi, this flower is called Viola yedoensis. Although it's pretty, its stem has small thorns that can prick your hands." As he spoke, Xiao Ran carefully picked the flower, wiped it with a cloth, and then handed it to the little princess.

The little princess carefully placed the violet flowers into her little cloth bag. Xiao Ran couldn't help but laugh as he watched her earnest expression.

This little cloth bag was specially sewn for these little ones by Li Lizhi and the others, so that they could easily pick up things they liked, such as stones, leaves, and so on.

After walking a while longer, Xiao Ran suddenly stopped, pointed to a patch of bushes ahead, and said, "Look, that's a raspberry bush."

The little ones looked in the direction he pointed and saw that the bushes were covered with small red berries, like strings of tiny lanterns, which looked very tempting. The little princess immediately ran over and reached out to pick them, but Xiao Ran grabbed her arm.

"Don't rush, Sizi. There's a trick to picking raspberries. Look, you have to hold the stem end of the fruit and twist it gently, and it will fall off. If you pull it directly, you'll crush the fruit." As he spoke, Xiao Ran demonstrated, and a whole raspberry landed in his palm.

The other little ones followed Xiao Ran's example, carefully pinching the stem of a raspberry and gently twisting it. Sure enough, the fruit fell off smoothly.

The little princess also twisted off a perfectly intact raspberry, and excitedly held it up for Xiao Ran to see: "Little Nangjun, look~ Aren't I amazing~"

"Our Sizi is really amazing, she learns it in no time," Xiao Ran praised with a smile.

Hearing this, the little princess picked even more diligently. Before long, her little bag was full of raspberries. She picked one up and put it in her mouth. The sweet and sour juice instantly spread across her tongue, making it more delicious than any dessert.

"Great! So great!" The little princess squinted her eyes, looking very satisfied, and didn't forget to pick up a piece and hand it to Xiao Ran.

"Little Nangjun Seven Ducks~"

Xiao Ran took the raspberry, put it in his mouth, and nodded: "It's really delicious. There should be wild strawberries up ahead, even sweeter than raspberries. Let's go take a look." Li Wu had encountered wild strawberries when he returned from hunting in the mountains. He said they weren't far from the foot of the mountain, and he had picked some there. They were indeed very sweet.

Upon hearing that there were even sweeter wild strawberries, the little ones immediately perked up, stopped eating raspberries, and picked up their little cloth bags to walk forward.

The little princess pulled Xiao Ran up the mountain. When they got tired, they stopped to rest. She didn't forget to take out a few raspberries she had picked herself and stuff them into Xiao Ran's hand, saying, "Little pouch-kun, Qi Ya~"

Soon, Xiao Ran and his group arrived at a flat area and saw a dense patch of wild strawberry vines, with bunches of red wild strawberries hanging heavily on the ground.

Compared to the strawberries Xiao Ran had eaten before, the wild strawberries were much smaller, but they tasted much better than the premium strawberries.

Xiao Ran picked one and put it in his mouth. Sure enough, it was sweet with a hint of sourness and tasted excellent.

"Little Nangjun~ I want to eat seven ducks too~" Watching Xiao Ran eat strawberries, the little princess's mouth was practically watering.

Xiao Ran smiled and popped a strawberry into the little princess's mouth.

"Is the rhinoceros antler delicious?"

The little princess nodded with sparkling eyes, "Okay, okay, Qi Ya~"

Xiao Ran picked out a few larger ones and fed one to each of the little ones, then started picking strawberries.

If you accidentally scratch the wild strawberry vines, it will feel itchy and prickly. Also, picking strawberries requires bending over a lot and you have to control your strength well. So Xiao Ran simply didn't ask the little princess and the others to come and help. Instead, he picked strawberries with Sun Simiao.

A few little ones were sitting on a rock not far away, eating the raspberries they had just picked.

The little princess picked up a raspberry and put it in her mouth. After chewing a few times, she suddenly felt a pain on the top of her head.

"Hey~"

The other little ones immediately looked towards the little princess.

Princess Chengyang asked worriedly, "Sizi, what's wrong?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a red fruit fell onto the little princess's head.

"What is this?" Princess Chengyang stepped forward and picked up the small red fruit; it turned out to be a hawthorn.

Princess Gaoyang looked at it and said, "This looks like a candied hawthorn, but without any sugar."

Upon hearing about candied hawthorns, the little princess no longer felt the pain from where she had been hit.

"Sugar Fortune~" The little princess swallowed hard, then reached out to take the hawthorn from Princess Chengyang's hand.

"Wait a minute," Di Renjie stopped him, saying, "We can't be sure if this is actually a hawthorn, so let's ask the young master."

The suggestion was approved by everyone, so the little ones ran off to find Xiao Ran.

"Little Pouch, Little Pouch~"

Xiao Ran was picking strawberries when he heard the little princess's sweet voice.

Xiao Ran looked up, and the little princess walked over holding a hawthorn.

"Little Nangjun, is this Tangfulu duck?"

Xiao Ran glanced at it and nodded, "Yes, this is indeed the hawthorn used to make candied hawthorn. Besides candied hawthorn, it can also be made into hawthorn cake, which is sweet and sour and delicious."

Thinking of the sweet and sour taste of candied hawthorn, the little princess couldn't help but swallow. Then, when Xiao Ran mentioned hawthorn cake, although she had never eaten it before, just hearing the name made her mouth water. Moreover, it was sweet and sour, which was the little princess's favorite taste.

So the little princess quickly took a bite of the hawthorn in her hand. The moment she took a bite, her face scrunched up, and her little tongue stuck out. After a long pause, she tearfully complained, "Little rascal lied to me! This isn't sweet! It's so sour!"

Seeing the little princess's eager expression, Xiao Ran chuckled and said, "Of course, hawthorns are sour if eaten raw. We need to use them to make other things to make them taste better."

As he spoke, Xiao Ran took out the water bottle he had brought for the little princess and let her drink a couple of sips of water. Only then did the little princess relax her furrowed brows.

Xiao Ran asked with a smile, "Does Si Zi want some hawthorn cake?"

Although she had just been sour from the hawthorn, the little princess nodded quickly upon hearing about hawthorn cake.

"Seven! Seven!"

The strawberries had been mostly picked, so Xiao Ran pointed to the hawthorn tree and said, "Let's go then."

Picking hawthorns was a bit difficult for the little ones because they couldn't reach them, so Xiao Ran simply kicked the tree a few times.

After practicing Tai Chi for so long, Xiao Ran has developed excellent control over his strength. With a few kicks, he didn't hit the same spot repeatedly, and the hawthorns on the tree fell down with a crackling sound, but the branches of the hawthorn tree were completely unharmed.

The little princess and the other kids waited for Xiao Ran to stop before picking up hawthorns below. Sun Simiao also picked up quite a few.

Before they knew it, the sun had risen high overhead, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, creating dappled patterns on the ground. The little ones' cloth bags and baskets on their backs were already full.

Looking around, all you could see were bright red things: red raspberries, red wild strawberries, and red wild hawthorns.

The little ones knew that raspberries and wild strawberries spoil easily, so when packing the hawthorns, they deliberately took out the raspberries and wild strawberries first and put the hawthorns at the bottom.

At this moment, the little princess touched her tummy and tugged at Xiao Ran's sleeve, saying, "Little Pouch-kun~ I'm hungry~"

Xiao Ran had anticipated this situation, so he brought sesame cakes, steamed buns, and meat sauce with him when he came.

He led the little ones to a shady spot under a tree and took out a large porcelain bottle and two oil paper packages from his basket.

The little princess picked up a sesame seed cake and ate it in big bites. The sesame seed cake smelled delicious, and the little princess's mouth was covered with sesame seeds.

"Good, good, Seven Ducks~ Little Nangjun Seven Ducks~"

Xiao Ran took a steamed bun and said, "Okay, I'll eat one too."

Sun Simiao also ate steamed buns. Xiao Ran opened the porcelain bottle, and a rich aroma instantly wafted out.

"What is this?" Sun Simiao asked.

Xiao Ran said, "How was the beef sauce I made last time? It smelled good, didn't it?"

Upon hearing "beef" and seeing the porcelain bottle, the little princess's mouth watered uncontrollably.

"Little Nang-kun~ Isn't this really good, Qi-ya~"

Xiao Ran turned his head and saw the little princess's longing eyes, which made him smile. (End of Chapter)