The two of them traveled through the Tang Dynasty to open a supermarket, and the little Sizi was sup

Chapter 348 A light diet!

Therefore, Xiao Ran decided it would be better to take the little princess home for dinner.

For the little princess, it didn't matter where she ate, so she nodded.

“Good duck~”

Xiao Ran returned to the villa with the three little princesses, where Yu Shu and Xiang Cao were preparing lunch.

"Remember to cook some light dishes for lunch today," Xiao Ran said.

Yu Shu and Xiang Cao agreed.

Seeing that the meal wouldn't be ready for a little while, Xiao Ran looked at the three little princesses and asked, "Do you have homework this morning?"

The little princess nodded and patted her little backpack.

Yes, there is!

Her current backpack was bought at the supermarket last time. It's a Barbie doll backpack. Although Xiao Ran doesn't think it's very pretty, the little princess likes it very much.

Princess Chengyang and Princess Gaoyang are the same style but different colors.

Xiao Ran asked, "So, do you want to play for a while or do your homework first?"

The little princess was somewhat conflicted.

Instead, Princess Chengyang said, "I want to do my homework first."

With a leader in place, the little princess and Princess Gaoyang followed Princess Chengyang to do their homework.

Since it was kindergarten, Li Lizhi and the others didn't have much homework. When lunch was ready, the three little princesses put down their pens.

Xiao Ran put down his phone.

"Have you finished writing?"

The little princess nodded, "Finished writing~"

At this moment, Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun also came downstairs.

"Why have you come back?" Li Shimin asked.

Normally, they were not at home for lunch. Empress Zhangsun also needed some exercise, so usually at noon, Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun would come down to eat together, and after lunch they would take a stroll in the courtyard.

Xiao Ran said, "Isn't it because Si Zi and the others want to eat something lighter right now? The food in the cafeteria is definitely more heavily seasoned, so it's better to eat at home."

Li Shimin nodded and waved to the three little princesses.

“Sizi, Sanskrit seventeen, come to your grandfather.”

The little princess ran over immediately, calling out, "Grandpa~ Mom~"

Empress Zhangsun looked at the little princess with a smile. Now that she was more pregnant, it was a little difficult for her to bend down and touch the little princess's head, so she could only look at the little princess with a smile.

Li Shimin asked, "Is Sizi's throat uncomfortable?"

The little princess shook her head, "No way!"

Xiao Ran also said, "The doctor said there's nothing wrong, and it should be fine in a couple of days."

Li Shimin nodded. "That's good. Let's go eat."

As they spoke, the group went to the dining table, sat down, and prepared to eat.

While we wanted a light diet, we couldn't just drink plain porridge; we still needed to consider some nutritional aspects.

So Yu Shu and Xiang Cao made pollack stew with tofu, as well as stir-fried seasonal vegetables and the like.

It's nutritious, not too strong in flavor, but not completely tasteless either.

At least the little princess enjoyed the meal, and Xiao Ran also found it tasted alright; he didn't think it was bland.

The little princess picked up a piece of pollack.

When eating fish, it is usually Xiao Ran, Li Lizhi, or Xiao Ruoying who picks out the fish bones for the little princess. They do this because they are afraid that the little princess will get pricked by fish bones.

Pollock doesn't have this problem because it doesn't have any small bones.

The little princess stuffed a large piece of pollack into her mouth and chewed it incessantly.

After chewing and swallowing, he said with a satisfied look, "Good!"

After saying that, the little princess reached for the tofu inside.

The little princess used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of tofu, then withdrew the chopsticks, but unfortunately, the tofu on the chopsticks had disappeared.

"Duck~" The little princess looked at her empty chopsticks, then at the tofu in the bowl, and tried to pick up another piece in a huff.

The tofu still crumbled.

Seeing that the chopsticks hadn't picked anything up, the little princess looked at Xiao Ran.

"Little Nang~ This chopstick is broken~"

Xiao Ran had been paying close attention to the little princess's every move, and he couldn't help but laugh when he heard her words.

"Sizi, the chopsticks aren't broken, it's just that the tofu is too fragile."

The little princess tilted her head and looked at Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran smiled and picked up a smaller piece of tofu for the little princess.

"This tofu is hard to pick up, shall I pick it up for Sizi?"

The little princess nodded and lowered her head to start eating the tofu.

She doesn't care where the tofu comes from, as long as there's something to eat.

The tofu, soaked in the broth, was very fragrant and smooth, and the little princess loved it.

Finally, the little princess ate a few pieces of fish, a few pieces of tofu, and a bowl of rice for lunch, but didn't eat much of the stir-fried vegetables.

After they finished eating, Xiao Ran didn't take the three of them back immediately. Instead, he took them upstairs to sleep.

They'll be sleeping anywhere. The three little princesses already delayed their bedtime today because they were coming back for dinner. If they go back to sleep, they'll definitely be woken up when it's time for fruit.

It would be better to let them sleep at home and go back when it's time for class.

Inside Xiao Ran's room, the little princess lay in Xiao Ran's arms, while the Chengyang little princess and the Gaoyang little princess also slept beside Xiao Ran, one on the left and the other on the right.

Listening to the soft breathing of the three little princesses, Xiao Ran set his alarm and fell asleep as well.

Xiao Ran didn't open his eyes until the alarm clock rang, and then he turned it off.

"Little Nangjun~" The little princess was also woken up by the alarm clock, rubbing her eyes and calling out to Xiao Ran in a daze.

Xiao Ran gently patted the little princess's head.

"Get up, Sizi. Let's wash our faces and then go to school."

The little princess had already regained consciousness and nodded upon hearing this.

"Good~"

Afterwards, Xiao Ran carried the little princess off the bed, and then woke up the Chengyang and Gaoyang little princesses as well. He helped the three little princesses wash up and returned to the kindergarten.

They returned just in time; the children had just finished eating fruit and were playing on the swings, waiting for class. When the three little princesses arrived at the kindergarten, Princess Gao Yang noticed one swing was empty and immediately said to Xiao Ran, "Brother! I want to play on the swing!"

Xiao Ran nodded. "Go ahead, be careful."

Princess Gaoyang responded happily and ran towards the swing.

After sitting on the swing, Princess Gaoyang waved to Princess Chengyang and the other princess.

Come and play!

The little princess pulled the little princess of Chengyang towards the little princess of Gaoyang.

The three of them played like they were at home, each taking turns to play. There were also children on the swings nearby, and the little princess could go and play with them.

Soon, the school bell rang, and the little princess turned around to look at Xiao Ran, who had been standing there, and ran towards him.

Xiao Ran picked up the little princess and walked towards the classroom, asking, "What's wrong, Sizi?"

The little princess shook her head and suddenly kissed Xiao Ran on the cheek.

"I'm off to class~ Little Nangjun, wait for me~"

Xiao Ran smiled, "Okay, I'll wait for you. I'll definitely pick you up after school, okay?"

The little princess was satisfied. Just then, they arrived at the classroom door. The little princess got off Xiao Ran, waved to him, and walked into the classroom.

This was Princess Yuzhang's class. She greeted Xiao Ran and then went in to begin the lesson.

In addition to mathematics, Princess Yuzhang has now begun teaching some basic physics. Both Princess Yuzhang and Li Lizhi have more than one lesson a day, although the content of each lesson is slightly different.

For example, Princess Yuzhang might have two lessons a day; the first lesson would be math, and the second lesson would be physics.

Their course schedules have also changed; to put it simply, the courses are different, but the teachers are the same.

Listening to Princess Yuzhang's voice giving lessons inside the room, and looking at the cement ground not far away, Xiao Ran silently marveled at the great changes that had taken place in the Tang Dynasty.

However, this is also a good thing, as it has accelerated the development of the Tang Dynasty.

After leaving the kindergarten, Xiao Ran went to see the sweet potato vines and then went to the cement factory.

This is just as Xiao Ran said before.

Previously, the guards in charge of production would each lead a group of workers to familiarize themselves with the process. Once the workers were familiar with the process, a team leader would be selected from among them. Also, among the guards, a leader would be chosen based on the principle of voluntariness to oversee the workers.

It's basically just transplanting the system from a modern factory.

The process of making cement is not very complicated. The work that the workers have to do is not a brain-intensive task. All they need to do is strength, and these people have no shortage of strength.

Seeing Xiao Ran approaching, the person in charge of cement quickly came over.

"Xiao Langjun."

Xiao Ran nodded and asked, "How is the cement production going now?"

The man being asked stroked his beard and said, "Cement production has indeed increased."

Then he sighed, "The rate at which raw materials are being consumed has also increased."

This is a problem.

Xiao Ran stroked his chin, intending to discuss it with Li Chengqian and Li Shimin.

"Okay, I understand. Are there any other questions? For example, has anyone tried to cheat or shirk their responsibilities?"

The person in charge shook his head, "No, they are all working very hard."

For these vagrants and beggars, the cement factory provided them with a place to stay, and they were grateful enough that they would never try to cheat or shirk their responsibilities.

Of course, this is only temporary. After all, they have just started working and are bound to be full of enthusiasm. But there will inevitably be those who, once they receive their salary, feel that they are rich and don't need to work so hard anymore.

We can't see anything yet, but we'll know later.

After looking around and finding no problems, Xiao Ran went to Lizheng Hall to find Li Chengqian, since the cement ash produced was up to standard.

"Young master," Li Chengqian called out to Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran nodded and got straight to the point.

"Your Highness, it's like this, who is currently in charge of transporting the cement raw materials?"

Li Chengqian said a name Xiao Ran had never heard of before, and then asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Xiao Ran shook his head. "No, it's just that cement production has increased, so the consumption of raw materials will definitely increase as well, so we need to have more people transport more."

Li Chengqian was relieved. "It's good that nothing went wrong. These are all minor matters."

The raw materials for cement are not particularly difficult to obtain; the only challenge lies in human resources.

Li Chengqian sighed, "I never thought the Tang Dynasty would be so short of people."

You can't expect the palace guards to do everything; they have their own duties to perform.

Xiao Ran thought for a moment and asked, "What happened to the wounded soldiers?"

Li Chengqian wondered, "What other arrangements can we make? Give them some severance pay and let them return to their hometowns."

Xiao Ran was silent for a moment, then said, "How about we let them come back? Of course, it would be voluntary, which would be like giving them a job. However, currently only soldiers in the vicinity can do this; those in other places will have to wait."

Some of these wounded soldiers who returned home were able to find their way back home, and their families might still be there. They were in a better position, at least they had a place to stay.

However, some families had lost their members due to war or natural disasters, so they could only find a place to build a house and move in under the arrangement of the imperial court.

This is the same approach as dealing with refugees, except that compared to refugees, they have a place to live, but they still don't have land and can only do odd jobs.

So Xiao Ran thought it best to gather these people together, which would be a relatively stable job for them, provided that they were able-bodied.

As they were talking, Xiao Ran suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

“Wait, what about those prisoners in the jail? Wouldn’t it be perfect to have them do hard labor? I was thinking that even if we brought these soldiers back, probably not many of them would be able to do the work, but having them supervise the prisoners would be just right.”

The systems in the Tang Dynasty were naturally different from those in modern times.

Unlike modern soldiers who retire after a certain number of years or voluntarily apply for retirement, soldiers in the Tang Dynasty did not retire after that period of time.

In the Tang Dynasty, one would not go out unless they reached a certain age or were injured.

Therefore, there are relatively few soldiers with intact limbs and decent physical condition, so even if they were assigned to work, it would be a drop in the ocean.

But it's acceptable to let them watch the prisoners work, since the prisoners are all shackled and can't run away even if they want to, and very few prisoners have the courage to escape.

This not only showed kindness to the soldiers, letting those still in the camp know that the imperial court had found a way out for them, so they didn't need to worry, but it also boosted morale.

On the other hand, since the prisoners in the jail are fed and clothed every day, it would be better to make use of them and have them do some work.

As he spoke, Xiao Ran also mentioned prisoners of war.

"And those prisoners, there's no war now, but if there is in the future, or if there are any prisoners from before, make them work. If anyone breaks the law in the future, instead of being imprisoned for a certain number of years, they can be made to work for that same number of years. It's too wasteful to just keep them in prison."

Li Chengqian nodded, "What the young master said makes sense. I will have someone come and discuss it with him."

Xiao Ran smiled and said, "I was just making a suggestion. Our thoughts and ideas are ultimately different. What I said was from my perspective, so Your Highness doesn't need to believe everything I say. It would be best to discuss it with your elders and make this idea more suitable for the situation in the Tang Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)