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

Chapter 56 Persimmon Frost Used in Medicine!

With everything prepared, the palace maids were instructed to brew the medicine.

"The persimmon cakes were made by Xiao Ran from Kaolao Village. All you need to do is peel the persimmons before drying them and squeeze them while they're drying. This not only creates the white powder on the persimmons but also makes the cakes more delicious. Imperial Physician Zhang, please try them."

Such things are naturally not kept secret; if they can benefit more people, they should be made public.

"So that's all it takes!" Zhang Baozang couldn't believe how simple it was, and now he couldn't wait to go back and buy some persimmons to try it out.

Zhang Anan gave Zhang Baozang a persimmon cake.

Zhang Baozang accepted the medicine and quickly said, "Thank you, Your Majesty! I'll go check on the medicine preparation."

Li Shimin nodded slightly.

As Zhang Baozang walked out of the Lizheng Hall, he muttered to himself, "Xiaoran Kaolao Village... I feel like I've heard of it somewhere before."

Zhang Anan, standing nearby, reminded him: "A curved plow!"

"Oh, right, right, the curved plow was also the masterpiece of young master Xiao Ran," Zhang Baozang realized.

I scraped all the persimmon cakes I brought back, but the amount of persimmon frost I got was very limited.

“Father, if persimmon frost can be used as medicine to alleviate Mother’s condition, I want to go to Kaolao Village. Young Master should have plenty of persimmon frost there,” Li Lizhi said.

Right now, only Xiao Ran has persimmon cakes; nowhere else has them.

"Agreed!" Li Shimin naturally supported it.

Li Shimin picked up a persimmon cake. "It's really quite delicious. How does this guy know so much about these things?"

Sun Simiao knew about the existence of persimmon frost and its effects, but he didn't know how to increase its production.

Xiao Ran, however, knew.

"This paper is much smoother than the paper from the Tang Dynasty!" Empress Zhangsun picked up the A4 paper.

"I wonder how it was made. It must have been very expensive!" Li Shimin touched it.

A4 paper undergoes a chemical bleaching process to remove pigments, followed by the addition of fluorescent whitening agents, resulting in a whiteness of 80-95%, close to pure white, and visually striking.

The whiteness of Tang Dynasty paper, measured by modern standards, is usually less than 50%, while the whiteness of A4 paper is 1.5 to 2 times that of Tang Dynasty paper, a significant difference.

There are occasional records of white paper in Tang Dynasty documents. The Tang Liudian mentions that "Yuezhou paper and Wuzhou paper are the best, and the paper from other prefectures is second best. All of them have white paper."

Here, "white paper" does not refer to white in the modern sense, but rather to undyed natural paper. Due to differences in raw materials and processes, the color is mostly off-white, light yellow, or light gray, rather than pure white.

A small number of high-quality rattan paper or paper mulberry bark paper, after repeated rinsing and fine pulping, may have a color close to light beige, but their whiteness is still far lower than that of A4 paper, and their production is extremely limited, reserved for the use of the nobility.

Datang paper prioritizes practicality and limited aesthetics, while modern A4 paper achieves ultimate delicacy and whiteness through chemical and mechanical means.

Because the Tang Dynasty couldn't recreate it, I found it very impressive.

As Xiao Ran requested, Zhang Jialin bought 150 flatbreads and returned home. Zhang Huaicai's roasted chestnuts and persimmon cakes were also all sold out.

This time I can take away two days' worth of money.

However, persimmon cakes and roasted chestnuts must be eaten separately.

Persimmon cakes were also popular, and Zhang Huaicai felt the price could be raised further.

Write down the situation and put it in an envelope for Zhang Jialin to take back with him.

"Young master, Third Sister," Zhang Jialin called out as his oxcart stopped.

Xiao Ran and the others walked out of the house. "Sixth Brother!"

“Young master, this is what Zhang Bo brought back, along with a letter, not for Jinniang, but for you. And some sesame cakes.”

"Okay, thank you for your hard work!" Xiao Ran grabbed a few flatbreads and stuffed them into Zhang Jialin's hands.

This was Zhang Erya's happiest moment, because she could get a share of the money.

Although the money from selling roasted chestnuts is now used to pay for the construction of the house, we are still very excited when the profits are distributed.

The cost of a bushel of persimmons is 7 coins, and it sells for about 35 coins, so the profit is not low.

Third Aunt and Fourth Aunt helped carry the flatbread back into the house.

Xiao Ran opened the letter and read it. "This one is selling very well too."

Zhang Jinhe took the letter. "In that case, we can teach others to try. When would be a good time for the young master to meet?" "When we get paid tonight, have Grandpa talk to the others and tell them to meet at your place tomorrow morning!"

Zhang Mingde is still by the pond; as the village head, it's more appropriate for him to say this.

"He said it was just right before he left that night, no need to come and notify him." But Zhang Jinhe wanted to explain the whole story to Zhang Mingde.

This is a good thing, and Zhang Mingde will definitely support it.

Over the course of several days, the quality of the food remained unchanged, and he was still in high spirits at mealtimes.

Looking at the houses slowly rising from the ground, Xiao Ran was still a little excited.

I never expected that even after time-traveling, I would still have such a strong attachment to houses.

Zhang Mingde couldn't eat much at home, but with so many people here, he found his appetite had improved.

The millet rice tastes better than the rice at home.

Zhang Jinhe leaned over and said, "Grandpa, the young master's persimmon cakes are also very popular. They cost two for one coin in Chang'an."

"Oh dear, this isn't cheap," Zhang Mingde said thoughtfully.

The third grandfather, who was standing nearby, also heard this and said, "Young master, you know so much. Are you going to buy a lot of persimmons? I have quite a few at home."

"The young master said he'll teach the other villagers how to make persimmon cakes. It's not difficult. After we finish our work, Grandpa, please tell the others that we'll have a get-together at our house tomorrow morning. The young master will teach everyone how to make persimmon cakes."

Xiao Ran's ability to do this surprised both his third grandfather and Zhang Mingde.

Persimmons that used to sell for only 7 coins can now sell for 35 coins, something I never dared to dream of.

"The young man devised his own business, yet he was willing to teach the whole village step by step. This kind of magnanimity deserves the title of 'noble character'."

Zhang Mingde paused, looked at the others eating by the pool, and added, "Everyone says that money should be kept to oneself, but the young master insists on breaking this gold nugget into pieces and sharing it with everyone. This is truly a blessing for our Kaolao Village!"

"It's a blessing for the village to have such a young man!" The third grandfather nodded in deep agreement.

Wang Shen heard it too, and it would be a lie to say he wasn't envious.

I'm quite envious too.

As the sun set, despite a long day's work, I wasn't feeling down; in fact, I was quite excited.

Zhang Jinhe and Zhang Erya were getting ready to pay their wages.

Everyone lined up voluntarily.

"Those from Kaolao Village, don't leave yet, stay a moment," Zhang Mingde said as he walked to the side of the group.

A young man shouted, "Everyone from Kaolao Village, don't leave yet! The village head has something to say."

Now everyone heard it.

Wang Shen and the people from the other two villages left first, while the people from Kaolao Village waited by the pool.

They all gathered around Zhang Mingde.

I'm too old to shout anymore.

Zhang Mingde stood on the earthen slope, leaning on a jujube wood cane, the setting sun painting his deeply lined face a deep red.

He raised his hand to quiet the noisy crowd, his aged voice carrying an undeniable solemnity: "Quiet down, everyone!"

"Young Master Xiao Ran has a method for making persimmon cakes that will make them delicious and fetch a high price."

"Young master is selfless and willing to teach his method to everyone in the village. If anyone wants to learn, please wait at the usual place tomorrow morning."

The old spot is under the old locust tree in front of Zhang Jinhe's house.

"Is it difficult? I'm afraid I won't be able to learn it," someone said.

Xiao Ran stepped forward and responded, "This seems simple, but it's actually not difficult."

"Hahaha," a group of people suddenly burst into laughter.

"Nothing else needs to be added; you can do whatever you want," Xiao Ran said simply.

(End of this chapter)