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

Chapter 77: High Reading Costs!
This time, Xiao Ran gave Zhang Erya some seasonings such as salt, MSG, and cumin, and asked her to wrap them up and send them to Li Lizhi.

Third Sister also gave the prepared rock sugar to the two little princesses.

Li Shimin and his entourage brought quite a lot of things, so it would be appropriate to return some gifts; otherwise, it wouldn't be right.

The Li family was very pleased with the things Xiao Ran had prepared.

"Little Nang-kun~ See you later~" The little princess waved her little hand while holding the rock candy.

"See you again, Sizi!"

"Young master, come visit the Duke of Su's mansion when you have time!" Cheng Chumo said.

“Brother, I’ll accompany you to the Duke of Ji’s residence,” Qin Huaidao said with a smile.

Zhang Anan smiled, nodded, said goodbye, and left.

After Li Shimin and the others returned, the courtyard suddenly became a bit deserted.

Since Li Lizhi and her friends started visiting frequently, the family has never run out of pastries.

These pastries were made for the imperial court and are the kind you can't buy on the market.

“Young master, the land we mentioned before, the coal there is toxic and can’t be used. Because it’s covered in coal, let alone farming, there are very few trees.” Zhang Mingde felt that Xiao Ran had suffered a huge loss.

Even if it were just trading a telescope for something, Cheng Yaojin was willing to do it, so it should have been done.

Building houses nowadays also requires a lot of timber.

Many people know that coal can be burned, but few actually use it.

It's alright outdoors, but be careful.

Burning a house can kill people.

“Grandpa, I know this. It will be very useful in the future.”

Seeing Xiao Ran's confident demeanor, Zhang Mingde said nothing more.

I just wanted to give a simple reminder that Zhang Mingde now knows that Xiao Ran has something.

It's a bit unusual.

On the way, Li Shimin looked around with binoculars.

Li Shimin never expected Xiao Ran to give him such a unique and wonderful item.

This is something that money can't buy.

"This is a good thing. I wish we could make it." Li Shimin looked at the telescope.

Li Shimin not only wanted one for himself, but also hoped that other military generals of the Tang Dynasty would have telescopes.

This kind of thing is very useful on the battlefield.

"Judging from the young master's reaction, although it's difficult, it should be worth a try," Qin Qiong said.

"That's exactly what I meant," Cheng Yaojin nodded.

"I want to take it apart and see."

"No!" Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin quickly exclaimed.

They were afraid that Li Shimin would damage it.

Although it belonged to Li Shimin, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong were still heartbroken when it was damaged.

"Hahaha! I was just saying it casually, how could I bear to tear it down?" Holding the binoculars, Li Shimin became more and more curious about Xiao Ran's background.

Inside the carriage, the two little princesses each held a piece of rock candy.

You can eat two pieces a day if you bring them home.

Li Lizhi opened the things Zhang Erya had given her.

“Mother, it’s refined salt!” Li Lizhi said.

Li Lizhi had met the others before, but Xiao Ran didn't mention their names, so she didn't know them either.

“This is MSG, the young master said it’s to enhance the flavor,” Princess Yuzhang pointed. “This is cumin, we added it when we were grilling the meat.”

"Cumin is delicious!" said the little princess of Chengyang.

"Hmmmm~"

“Young Master said that this is mainly used for barbecue, and it should also be good with cumin.” Princess Yuzhang said thoughtfully, “I didn’t even know that before. The merchants from the Western Regions did not bring it to the Tang Dynasty, otherwise this cumin could have sold for an astronomical price.”

People who can afford to eat mutton are not short of money.

The photos can be picked up tomorrow, and Li Lizhi came over under some pretext.

I feel a little embarrassed about running around so much.

Li Lizhi felt that Zhang Erya's house was not Xiao Ran's house.

It's still a bit inconvenient.

Zhang Erya's house is small, and it's inconvenient to stay inside when it rains. These past few times, she's been outside.

"It's so much fun!" The little princess tugged at Empress Zhangsun's sleeve. "Mother, can we come again?"

The little girl thought this place was much more interesting than the palace.

“Sizi, this is the young master’s house. It’s fine for us to come occasionally, but it’s impolite to come every day. If it goes on for too long, people will dislike you, and the young master might not like you anymore.”

It's clear now that Xiao Ran really likes the three little girls.

The little princess thought this was a very serious matter, "What should we do then?"

"Just don't come every day." Li Lizhi smiled.

"Hmmmm~"

The little princess was willing to listen to what Empress Zhangsun and Li Lizhi said.

“Young master’s bicycle is also interesting. It would be nice to ride it in the palace,” Princess Yuzhang said.

Xiao Ran initially planned to ride a bicycle to Zhongnan Mountain, but then realized that riding a bicycle made him feel inferior, so he didn't ride it.

Xiao Ran also made the cement and prepared the kang (heated brick bed) he needed.

It shouldn't be too cold in winter.

Xiao Ran plans to go check out the coal business; coal washing seems like a viable option.

The villagers can use it then, as coal will also be needed for making glass in the future.

I didn't have much desire to burn glass before, but if there were coal, that would be a different story.

The thought that I also own a mine makes me a little excited.

An autumn rain gave everyone a day off.

There's no way to build a house.

Zhang Erya's thatched house had small windows, making it very dark on rainy days.

Xiao Ran found some pencils and A4 paper, intending to teach San Niang arithmetic and Zhang Er Ya to read.

Zhang Dalang should also learn from him, but right now this guy isn't in the mood.

He always felt that he didn't have much time left and didn't want to learn these things.

Zhang Dalang is now thinking about doing something for his family as much as possible.

Although I don't have to worry about going hungry now, I want to do more.

"Second Aunt, is there a schoolteacher in the village?"

Zhang Erya shook her head. "Young master, it seems there aren't any. Not many people can read."

The only literate family is Zhang Jinhe's; very few others are literate.

"Reading is very important. Try to study as much as possible in the future; it will be of great use."

"Okay!" Zhang Erya agreed with Xiao Ran.

Zhang Dalang would occasionally go to the cowshed to check on things and add some hay and fodder.

He's a restless person; if Xiao Ran hadn't stopped him, he would have gone out to cut grass.

Not only Zhang Dalang, but also the children cutting grass showed no sign of stopping even in the rain.

She didn't think getting caught in the rain was a big deal, and Xiao Ran's pay was quite substantial.

Xiao Ran persuaded him to go back, because in this era, even a cold can be fatal.

Try to avoid getting wet in the rain as much as possible.

"Third Sister, you should also go to school in the future." Xiao Ran rubbed the little girl's head, and could tell that Third Sister was probably quite good at studying.

"Alright! Young master, does Sizi Fanyin also have to go to school?"

"Yes, they will. Sizi and the others are all in school."

"Does it require a lot of money?"

Xiao Ran never expected that Third Sister would consider these things at such a young age.

"This should be rare." Xiao Ran knew that studying was a very expensive thing in this era.

The cost of papermaking is not low, but that's secondary.

Currently, only woodblock printing is used, and it has not yet become widespread.

As for movable type printing, that was still a long way off.

The books are all handwritten, so they must be very expensive.

After all, ordinary people are lucky if they can fill their stomachs, let alone think about these things.

(End of this chapter)