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

Chapter 70 Hand-made Cement!

According to Xiao Ran's idea, all the temples should be demolished, but that is obviously impossible.

Zhihong came over in a humble manner not because of himself, but because of Li Shimin.

If Xiao Ran were to push his luck any further, he would be being unreasonable, but he would not forgive these monks either.

"I'm annoyed just looking at you! Get out of my way!" Xiao Ran turned and left with the others.

Zhang Mingde never dreamed that Xiao Ran would be so tough on these monks.

Wang Shen happened to return and saw Xiao Ran talking to several monks with an impatient expression.

Wang Shen didn't recognize these monks, but he knew they were no ordinary people from the sight of their robes.

Zhihong and his group bowed to Zhang Erya's family before leaving.

Xiao Ran knew very well that this was the limit.

At least for a while, the temples will be much more restrained and won't be as arrogant as before.

The fishing rod was returned intact, and the debt was considered settled.

"It's alright, this matter is over, and we won't be coming back again," Xiao Ran comforted the Zhang sisters.

"Okay!" Zhang Erya nodded.

I do feel very safe now.

Zhang Erya knew this was a tricky matter, and even the village headman was at a loss.

"Uncle!" Xiao Ran's expression changed, just like always.

Just now, it was a mix of impatience and disdain.

“Nephew, as you requested, the other side has been left untouched. You mentioned you needed to prepare other things, so we'll leave that side untouched for now.” Although Wang Shen was curious, he didn’t ask any questions.

"Okay, I'll get the cement ready as soon as possible." As mentioned before, the kang (heated brick bed) needs cement.

He goes to check on it every day, and Xiao Ran is also making preparations.

The cement can be made quickly; not much is needed.

Zhang Jinhe smiled; she still preferred Xiao Ran's approachable demeanor.

Xiao Ran appeared in Kaolao Village and was always very friendly; everyone thought he had a great personality.

Zhang Jinhe thought about it again and realized that it made sense. Xiao Ran had so many good things; even a kind-hearted person like him couldn't keep them all.

Li Zhengdian

Zhang Anan told Li Shimin about the Daxingshan Temple incident.

"The fishing rod lad took it back, didn't take the things, and even scolded the host."

Li Shimin nodded. "Alright, I understand."

"This guy is really angry this time."

The little princess ran excitedly to Li Shimin, "Daddy~ Let's go play with Little Nangjun~"

The two little princesses had a great time in Kaolao Village these past few days.

The only difference is that there was a serious matter before, scraping the persimmon frost off, but that's no longer the case.

It's not a good time to go now.

We need to wait at least two days for this matter to pass.

It would be quite awkward to go now.

"Sizi, Father is busy these days. Let's go play again in a couple of days," Li Shimin agreed first.

I didn't say it was impossible; the little princess will be able to accept it in a couple of days.

"Empress, let's go see the persimmon cakes in Kaolao Village and take some photos." Li Shimin also wanted to leave some photos of Empress Zhangsun.

I have several princesses, and I like them all.

"Very well, Your Majesty's will."

The core raw materials for cement are calcium-based raw materials and silica-alumina raw materials.

Limestone is the source of calcium.

They mined limestone from the nearby mountains, which was called "Qingshi" in the Tang Dynasty. It was hard and made a clear sound when struck, and its main component was calcium carbonate.

Large chunks of limestone are broken into fist-sized pieces using hammers and chisels, making them easier to crush and calcine later.

For silica-alumina raw materials, look for clay.

The more troublesome part is burning limestone, which is time-consuming and requires spending money to buy charcoal.

Wood is definitely not suitable; the temperature won't be high enough.

Fortunately, Xiao Ran didn't need much. He didn't need to do these things himself; he could just tell Zhang Dalang how to do them.

Zhang Dalang and Zhang Erya didn't quite understand why Xiao Ran was burning stones.

Without asking any further questions, I offered my silent support.

Two days later, Li Shimin chose a nice day and prepared to go out for a stroll.

This time, instead of fishing, we're going hunting.

Zhongnan Mountain, south of Chang'an City, is a good hunting ground.

These places are all fenced off by the wealthy and powerful; otherwise, the trees would have been cut down long ago.

Among the 'firewood, rice, oil, and salt' essentials, firewood comes first. In this era, there were no other heating supplies, and firewood was irreplaceable.

Not only for heating, cooking, and building houses, but also for all kinds of furniture, most of these are made of wood.

Therefore, trees were severely felled during this era.

Let's bring Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin along. Everyone else has things to do, but Qin Qiong is relatively free.

Qin Huaidao, Cheng Chumo, and Cheng Tiehuan also accompanied them this time.

Cheng Tiehuan was the name Li Lizhi called her; having this sister by her side made her feel very safe.

Since Zhang Anan and the others went, Li Wu naturally didn't need to go.

Empress Zhangsun was now inside the carriage.

The little princess was very excited at the thought of going out to play.

When the group arrived at Zhang Erya's house, they were still a little scared when they saw the people on horseback.

Upon getting closer and seeing that it was Li Shimin, Qin Qiong, and others, Zhang Jinhe and Zhang Erya were relieved.

"Aha~" The little princess was very excited, but she didn't see Xiao Ran, nor did she see San Niang and Xiao Hei.

Xiao Ran was not there, so Li Lizhi got out of the car and asked Zhang Jinhe and Zhang Erya.

Hearing that Xiao Ran had put his things down by the pool, the group left.

This time, they brought more things than usual.

Various pastries, silks, and satins.

Li Shimin wanted to make amends to Xiao Ran, and also wanted to take a photo.

It's always good to bring extra gifts.

Xiao Ran recognized him from a great distance.

Xiao Ran knew Li Shimin, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, Cheng Tiehuan, and Zhang Anan, but he had never met Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaidao.

The carriage stopped beside the pool, and Third Sister took Little Black and ran to find the two little princesses.

The three little girls met and gave each other a hug.

"Good morning, uncles!" Xiao Ran greeted them.

"It's getting late, what are you doing?" Li Shimin pointed to the earthen kiln.

"We're burning some stones to make cement," Xiao Ran explained. Seeing that the group didn't have fishing rods, Xiao Ran knew they weren't fishing.

I'd never even heard of cement before.

Empress Zhangsun also got off the carriage, and Xiao Ran knew her identity at first glance.

The first impression she gives is that of a virtuous and kind person.

Li Shimin, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, and the others gathered around the earthen kiln, where Xiao Ran explained the uses of cement for building houses.

“Sturdy,” Li Shimin murmured to himself, “this kind of thing is very useful.”

They'd be useful for building palaces and city walls; I'd like to see how Xiao Ran does it.

"Do you have time to go hunting in Zhongnan Mountain?" Li Shimin invited Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran had seen it before; the horses were carrying bows and arrows.

"I can go along and take a look, but I can't ride a horse," Xiao Ran said.

"Can't ride a horse?" Cheng Yaojin was a little surprised.

"Horses aren't cheap, and I don't own any, so I naturally can't ride, but that won't stop me from coming along." Xiao Ran's RV has a bicycle and a very cool compound bow.

The compound bow has a beautiful design, with some decorations added to both ends, making it look a bit like a magical weapon from anime and novels.

I spent a lot of money on it before, not because the bow was powerful, but because I thought it looked nice.

(End of this chapter)