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

Seeing that the little princess didn't say it directly, Xiao Ran deliberately teased her, saying, "It's delicious, so delicious."

The little princess swallowed hard, looked at the sesame seed cake in her hand, and then looked up at the steamed bun with beef sauce in Xiao Ran's hand.

"Little Nang-kun~ How are you doing~ Or am I doing well~"

Seeing that the little princess's eyes were practically glued to his steamed bun, Xiao Ran took a big bite and said, "I don't know either. I haven't eaten the sesame cake in your hand."

The little princess looked at the cake in her hand, hesitated for a moment, and then handed it to Xiao Ran.

"That little duckling~"

The poor little princess thought that if she gave Xiao Ran the sesame cake, he would give her the beef sauce. But to her surprise, Xiao Ran opened his mouth wide and half of the sesame cake went into his mouth.

Xiao Ran smacked his lips and deliberately said, "My steamed buns are still the best."

After saying that, he finished the steamed bun in two or three bites.

The little princess was dumbfounded. Looking at the half-eaten sesame cake in her hand and then at Xiao Ran's empty hand, she realized that she had been tricked.

"Little Nangjun is bad~" The little princess pouted, and her eyes instantly turned red.

Xiao Ran took out his chopsticks, picked up a piece of beef sauce, and when he saw the little princess open her mouth to speak, he put it directly into her mouth.

"Hmm~"

Just as the little princess was about to cry, she realized there was something in her mouth and instinctively smacked her lips.

"Good job, Seven Ducks~"

The little princess was about to cry, but now that she was thinking about the beef sauce, she held back her tears.

Xiao Ran took out a steamed bun and put some meat sauce on it.

"I was just kidding you. This beef sauce bun is for our Sizi. Eat up."

The little princess never learns from her mistakes; she took a bite right away, completely forgetting how Xiao Ran had tricked her earlier.

"Good!" The little princess held the steamed bun in both hands, completely satisfied.

After finishing their meal, the group packed up and prepared to head down the mountain.

The mountain path wasn't steep, and the roadside was lush with vegetation, with a gentle breeze carrying the fragrance of the plants.

The little princess walked ahead, occasionally bending down to pick a wildflower by the roadside, or chasing after a butterfly for a few steps, her laughter as clear and crisp as a mountain stream.

Just then, she suddenly stopped, pointed to an orchard not far away, and exclaimed, "Little Nang~ What's that? It's so beautiful~"

Xiao Ran looked in the direction she pointed and saw an orchard full of purple fruits, hanging in clusters on the branches like purple pearls.

His eyes lit up, and he said, "Those are mulberries. I didn't expect to find mulberry trees on the way down the mountain." Sun Simiao also came forward, looked at the tree full of mulberries, and nodded with a smile.

The little princess's feet had already moved involuntarily towards the mulberry tree, and she asked curiously, "Mulberry tree~ what's that~ what's it~"

"Mulberries are the fruit of the mulberry tree, and they taste sweet and sour."

Xiao Ran followed, picked a ripe mulberry, and handed it to the little princess. "Try it. Ripe mulberries are purplish-black and especially sweet."

The little princess took the mulberry, carefully put it in her mouth, and gently bit into it. The sweet juice instantly burst on her tongue, carrying a faint fragrance. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she excitedly said, "Good, good, good! Little Pangjun wants more!"

“Of course,” Xiao Ran nodded with a smile. Since the little princess’s basket was empty, Xiao Ran took it off and filled it with mulberries. As he filled it, he said, “Mulberries can be eaten directly, or used to make wine or jam. They have many uses.”

Sun Simiao also came over and added, "Mulberries are sweet and sour, and cold in nature. They have the effects of nourishing yin and blood, and promoting body fluids and moisturizing dryness. They are indeed a good thing. However, since they are cold in nature, rhinoceros horn should not be eaten in large quantities."

“Woji Island~” The little princess nodded obediently, but her hands didn’t stop moving as she tiptoed to pick mulberries from the bottom.

The mulberry tree wasn't too tall, and the little princess could just reach the lower branches. The other little ones followed along and picked mulberries, while Xiao Ran was in charge of picking the berries from the higher branches. Before long, the little basket was filled with glistening purple mulberries, which looked very tempting.

Xiao Ran glanced at the sky and said, "We've picked enough mulberries. Let's continue down the mountain, or the path will become difficult to traverse later." Although the little princess was still reluctant to leave, she knew they couldn't delay any longer. She obediently carried the basket full of mulberries and followed behind Xiao Ran.

Sun Simiao walked at the very back, occasionally reminding the children to watch their step.

The descent was relatively quick, and we didn't encounter anyone else along the way, so we headed straight home.

When they arrived home, Empress Zhangsun came out for some fresh air and saw Xiao Ran and the others carrying baskets in from outside.

"Where have you all been?" Empress Zhangsun asked.

Xiao Ran first helped the little ones put down their baskets, and then put down his own basket.

The little princess ran towards Empress Zhangsun, calling out, "Mother!"

Empress Zhangsun hugged the little princess and asked, "Is Sizi tired?"

The little princess shook her head.

At this moment, Xiao Ran said, "We went up the mountain and picked some raspberries, wild strawberries, and hawthorns. On the way back, we also saw a clump of mulberries, so we picked some more."

As he spoke, Xiao Ran placed the basket on the stone table.

The little princess took a perfectly intact mulberry from her bag.

"Auntie Qi~ This is so sweet~"

Empress Zhangsun smiled and bit down.

"Yes, it is very sweet. Thank you, Sizi."

The little princess covered her mouth and laughed.

On the mountain, Sun Simiao had also collected quite a few medicinal herbs, so after saying goodbye, he went to process his precious herbs. After being exposed to them for so long, Xiao Ran had some knowledge of pharmacology and the medicinal properties of some common herbs. Seeing that Empress Zhangsun only ate one mulberry and then stopped, Xiao Ran said, "Don't worry, Madam. Mulberries are warm in nature and will not harm your health. On the contrary, eating a moderate amount can relieve morning sickness."

Upon hearing this, Empress Zhangsun felt relieved and said with a smile, "You know more, don't you?"

Xiao Ran smiled and had a servant bring over a basin. He poured the hawthorns into the basin, saying as he poured, "Madam can eat these mulberries in moderation, but I plan to make some candied hawthorn balls and hawthorn cakes later. Hawthorns promote blood circulation, so you must not eat too many."

Empress Zhangsun knew that pregnant women should avoid eating hawthorn, so she nodded and said gently, "I know. You must be tired after picking so much fruit. Take a break and have some tea before you get back to work."

"It's alright, I'll process the hawthorns first. Making candied hawthorn balls and hawthorn cakes won't take too long," Xiao Ran said, picking up the bowl of hawthorns and heading towards the kitchen.

The servants in the household didn't know how to make candied hawthorn balls and hawthorn cakes, so Xiao Ran had to make them himself.

The little ones also rushed to the kitchen to help Xiao Ran.

In the kitchen, Xiao Ran first poured out the hawthorns and soaked them in clean water for a while. Then he gently rubbed them with his hands to clean the dust and impurities off the surface of the hawthorns. Next, he took out a very small spoon and carefully scooped out the stem and pit of the hawthorns.

This process was rather tedious, but Xiao Ran did it very seriously.

"Little Nang-jun~ What are you doing, duck~" the little princess asked, coming closer.

Xiao Ran continued working, saying, "I'm picking out the pits from the hawthorns. Otherwise, if they're still in the pits, they'll be hard to chew, and it'll be inconvenient to make them. After removing the pits, the candied hawthorn balls and hawthorn cakes will taste much better."

The little princess quickly raised her hand: "I'm coming too!"

The other kids also chirped about wanting to help.

Xiao Ran didn't refuse. Even if they didn't do it well and ruined the hawthorns, it wouldn't matter. Anyway, making hawthorn cakes required mashing them. As for the sugar snowballs, he could just use the hawthorns he had scooped out.

So Xiao Ran gave each of the little ones a small spoon and taught them how to scoop out fruit pits.

At first, the little ones were a bit clumsy, but after picking a few, they gradually became more skilled. Although the hawthorns they picked were not as clean as those picked by Xiao Ran, they were still quite presentable.

Soon all the hawthorns were cleaned. Xiao Ran placed the cleaned hawthorns on a plate to drain the water, then took out a clean pot, put it on the fire, and prepared to start making syrup.

Xiao Ran took out some rock sugar, put it in the pot, and then added an appropriate amount of water.

"Sydney~" The little princess thought of the sweet taste of rock candy as soon as she saw it.

Xiao Ran smiled and took out a few smaller pieces of rock sugar, popped one into the mouths of the little ones, and said, "This rock sugar is used to make syrup."

The most important part of making sugar snowballs is making the sugar syrup. The heat of the syrup must be controlled well, otherwise the sugar snowballs will either not be coated with sugar frosting or will be too sweet.

As Xiao Ran spoke, he gently stirred the rock sugar and water in the pot with a spatula, simmering it slowly over low heat. As the temperature rose, the rock sugar gradually melted, turning into a clear syrup. He would occasionally scoop up a little syrup with the spatula to observe its state.

The little princess watched intently from the side, her eyes fixed on the syrup, afraid of missing anything. After about half an hour, the syrup was finally ready, turning a slightly yellowish color. When a little syrup was picked up, it formed fine sugar threads.

"Alright, the syrup is ready." Xiao Ran immediately turned off the heat, then poured the drained hawthorns into the pot and quickly stirred them with a spatula. The hawthorns rolled in the syrup and were soon evenly coated with a layer of syrup.

"Wow~ So beautiful~" the little princess exclaimed, watching as a layer of white sugar frosting gradually covered the surface of the hawthorn, like a snowball, which was very pretty.

Xiao Ran took the hawthorns coated in syrup out and placed them on a plate to cool naturally. After cooling, the sugar frosting on the surface of the sugar snowballs became even whiter and looked very tempting.

The little princess couldn't resist reaching out to take one, but Xiao Ran stopped her: "Don't rush, they're still a little hot from being freshly made. Let them cool down before you eat them."

The little princess had no choice but to withdraw her hand, swallow hard, and wait obediently to the side.

Before long, the sugar snowballs had cooled down. Xiao Ran picked one up and handed it to the little princess: "Try it and see if it's good."

The little princess took the sugar snowball, carefully took a bite, and found the outer sugar frosting sweet and crispy, while the hawthorn inside was sweet and sour. The two flavors blended on her tongue, making her eyes light up with delight: "So delicious, Qi Ya~ Little Nang Jun is so amazing~"

Xiao Ran smiled and ruffled her hair: "If you like them, eat a couple more, but don't eat too many."

After saying that, he picked up a plate of candied hawthorn balls, walked into the courtyard, and handed them to Empress Zhangsun: "Madam, you may try a couple of these candied hawthorn balls, but please remember not to eat too many. Just one or two at a time is enough."

Empress Zhangsun took the sugar snowball, picked one up and tasted it. The sweet and sour taste instantly lifted her spirits, and a smile appeared on her face: "It tastes really good. Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Ran. Don't worry, I know my limits and won't eat too much."

After finishing the sugar snowballs, Xiao Ran turned around and went back to the kitchen to make hawthorn cake.

To make hawthorn cake, you need to cook hawthorn into a paste, then add rock sugar and agar, stir well, pour it into a mold, and refrigerate to set.

Xiao Ran first put some of the processed hawthorns into the pot. Of course, most of these pits were removed by the little princess and the others.

Then add an appropriate amount of water and simmer over low heat. During the cooking process, he would stir it with a spatula from time to time to prevent the hawthorn from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Princess Chengyang asked in confusion, "Why do we have to cook the hawthorns into a paste to make hawthorn cake?"

Xiao Ran explained, "After cooking it into a paste, the hawthorn cake will have a more delicate texture and be easier to shape. In addition, the sweet and sour taste of hawthorn will be more intense and it will taste better after being cooked into a paste."

Just listening to Xiao Ran talk made the little princess's mouth water.

Before long, the hawthorns in the pot were cooked until soft. Xiao Ran took out a strainer, poured the cooked hawthorns into it, and gently mashed them with a spoon to filter out the hawthorn puree, removing the peel and any remaining pits. The filtered hawthorn puree was bright red and looked very appetizing.

Xiao Ran poured the filtered hawthorn puree back into the pot, added an appropriate amount of rock sugar, and stirred slowly over low heat until the rock sugar was completely dissolved.

After mixing well, Xiao Ran poured the hawthorn puree into the prepared mold, smoothed the surface with a spatula, and then placed it in the refrigerator to cool and set.

Xiao Ran wiped the water off his hands and said, "Alright, the hawthorn cake has been put into the mold. We can eat it after it cools and sets. Let's go out and rest for a while, and come back to check on it later."

The little ones swarmed out again. Although they couldn't eat hawthorn cake for the time being, they could at least eat sugar snowballs.

The little princess went straight for the candied hawthorn balls, but since they were made from hawthorn, Xiao Ran didn't let the little ones eat too many. After watching them each eat one or two, he said, "No more candied hawthorn balls, come and eat wild strawberries and mulberries, and raspberries."

The servants had already washed and served the fruit. Seeing that Xiao Ran wouldn't let them eat the candy balls, the little ones weren't too disappointed. Instead, they turned to eat wild strawberries.

The little princess preferred mulberries, her lips swirling with purple juice as she ate them, and she kept licking them. (End of Chapter)