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

Di Renjie was more outgoing than Yan Yao and integrated into the group more quickly.

Yan Liben and Di Zhixun were old friends and took special care of each other.

Even if Di Zhixun is not here, Di Renjie and Di Chun can feel very at ease here.

Within two days, he ran off with the little princess.

The little princess is the youngest, yet everyone else revolves around her.

She has always been the most unique person in the class.

The smallest tomatoes and peppers in the vegetable garden have started to bloom one after another. As the flowers wither, one by one, the green tomatoes hang on them.

"Little Nang~" pointed to the tomato, "Little Nang~ this one isn't red~"

Xiao Ran squatted down and said with a smile, "Because it hasn't grown up yet. When it grows up and matures, it will turn red."

"Oh, I see~" the little princess looked around, "So many of them are red~"

"Yes, then there will be plenty of tomatoes to eat."

"Hee hee~"

The little girls were all happy and had eaten scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

It's a dish that several children particularly like.

Princess Yuzhang also chimed in, "Young master, could you perhaps plant some for other people in the village later?"

"Yes, when we grow the seedlings, we'll let the villagers plant them. The tomato yield is quite high. This kind of thing can be eaten as fruit or as a vegetable. It's a good thing."

We will definitely promote it in the future.

Yan Liben saw that Di Renjie and Yan Yao were adapting well and would occasionally go back to them.

Yan Liben was a government official and had work to do; he couldn't possibly be here every day.

In Kaolao Village as summer approaches, the sun gradually warms up, and the corn stalks have grown taller than an adult. The broad leaves rustle in the wind, as if humming a summer tune.

As Xiao Ran walked to the edge of the vegetable garden, he saw tomato vines climbing the fence, adorned with "little lanterns".

Some were a bright, translucent red, like agate soaked in honey.

Some were half red and half green, glistening with a moist sheen in the sunlight.

Some were still green and glistening with morning dew, indicating they weren't fully ripe.

"Young master! Young master! The tomatoes are ripe!"

A clear shout came from behind the trellis. There stood Princess Chengyang, standing on tiptoe, her little hands gripping the vines and leaves, her eyes wide open, staring at a red tomato the size of a fist.

"Mmm, it's cooked!"

Li Lizhi followed behind, carrying a bamboo basket, and smiled as she helped her clear away the vines that were blocking her view: "Slow down, don't get pricked by the thorns on the vines."

Third Sister also ran over with a basket on her arm, her hands still covered in mud.

She had just watered the tomatoes this morning, and now she pointed to the reddest one high up on the trellis: "Young man, look! That one is the reddest, it must be the sweetest!"

Yan Yao followed beside Third Sister, clutching a small bamboo shovel—the one she usually used to loosen the soil around the tomatoes—and joined in.

"I noticed it was starting to turn red yesterday, and today it's completely red!"

Di Renjie was also carrying a small basket. He was taller than Princess Chengyang, but instead of picking the fruit, he first helped the little princess steady her basket.

“If you can’t reach the rhinoceros, I’ll pick it for you. Point out which one to me.”

The little princess immediately pointed to the one she had been staring at for so long: "This one~ this one and this one~"

Hehe~ It's my place~ It's all my place~

Xiao Ran smiled and nodded, reaching out to grasp the ripe red tomato. With a gentle twist, the fruit snapped off and was handed to the little princess.
"Be careful, don't squeeze too hard, or you'll break it."

The little princess held the tomato, brought it to her nose, and smelled it. The sweet aroma mixed with the fruity scent made her laugh out loud: "Mmm, mmm~"

"Hee hee~"

Li Lizhi picked the fruit carefully, choosing only those that were fully ripe but without broken skin, and gently placed them into the basket.

Third Sister is familiar with the trellis and knows which vines are hidden behind the leaves, so she can reach out and pick them.

Yan Yao imitated Xiao Ran, pinching the bottom of the tomato and gently twisting it, afraid of breaking the vine.

Di Renjie helped carry the full baskets to the stone table next to him, and didn't forget to tie a small cloth strip to each basket, writing down who picked them.

Princess Yuzhang also came, holding a cloth in her hand, and occasionally wiping the mud off the children's hands: "I still remember when we first planted them in the spring, we turned the soil together. My second sister even trampled a few seedlings crooked. Later, she came to water them every day, and they finally grew so well."

Princess Chengyang blushed and whispered, "Didn't I loosen the soil for them later?"

This made everyone laugh.

In fact, everyone has contributed to this vegetable garden.

Sun Simiao taught everyone to use wood ash to kill insects, saying that this would make the fruit sweeter.

Zhang Erya comes to water the plants every morning and also helps pull weeds.

Even Li Yuan once squatted in the garden and counted the newly formed cherry tomatoes with the children, saying they would see who could eat the first red one.

Before long, the stone table was filled with bamboo baskets, piled high with bright red tomatoes.

The little princess, holding the tomatoes she had picked herself, ran to the stone table, insisting on sharing them with everyone.

She broke the tomato into small pieces and handed them to everyone. She took a bite herself, and the sweet juice dripped down her chin, but she laughed even more heartily.

Third Sister also took a bite of the fruit she had picked herself, her eyes lighting up: "It's sweet and sour, delicious."

Yan Yao and Di Renjie both nodded, and even Li Lizhi laughed and said, "Why does this taste better? Is it just my imagination?"

"It seems like we want something tastier," Zhang Jinhe added.

Xiao Yu helped Empress Xiao back, and Sun Simiao and Li Yuan also returned.

Zhang Jieyu was with them.

Hearing that the tomatoes in the vegetable garden were ready to eat, everyone wanted to see them.

"Wow, this output is pretty good!" Li Yuan said, leaning closer.

The little princess ran over with one in her hand, exclaiming, "Grandpa~ This is so good~"

As he spoke, he handed Li Yuan a small tomato.

Sun Simiao also squatted down and picked one, wiping it on his clothes. "This isn't difficult to grow, and it doesn't require much soil. Others can try it."

A few older people also joined in.

The little princess tugged at Xiao Ran's sleeve, "Little Nangjun~ Seven Noodles~ It's red~"

"Sizi wants to eat tomato and egg noodle soup!" Zhang Erya said with a smile.

"Hehe~ It's duck, it's duck~"

"Okay, let's have noodles for lunch!" Xiao Ran also quite liked noodles.

The tender grass from the vegetable garden was cut down to feed the pigs in the pigpen.

Previously, Xiao Ran asked Li Lizhi to find someone to castrate the pig, but there were no professionals available.

Li Lizhi sought out a person from the palace who was clean and pure.

Before the castration, he told Xiao Ran that it was easy to get infected and die.

Xiao Ran was confident in the disinfection methods; even several castrated pigs were fine.

After castration, it grew significantly faster.

I couldn't bear to feed the pigs staple food, and now potatoes and corn are definitely not suitable for feeding pigs; I wonder how much meat they'd get. Later, the kids will be able to enjoy tomatoes freely.

When they were at school, they would even bring the food to eat at the school.

The chili peppers were good too, but unfortunately no one else could eat them.

Having not visited for a long time, Li Shimin and his entourage also arrived at Kaolao Village, accompanied by Yuchi Jingde.

Several children were on their way to school; I didn't see them.

Li Shimin and his companions brought a lot of things, including food and daily necessities.

After putting down their things, the group headed straight for the furnace where the glass was fired.

"Uncle, you've come at the right time. Sanlang said that the ingredients have been adjusted these past few days and are clearer than before."

Xiao Ran led the group toward Liulifang, where tire tracks remained on the dirt road beneath their feet.

As soon as I entered the neighborhood, I heard a long, drawn-out sigh coming from inside, mixed with the voices of young people:
"You kneaded this material too hastily, and it's trapped air inside. When you blow it out, it will bulge!"

It was Cheng Chumo's voice, followed by Qin Huaidao's response: "Okay, I'll rub it twice more."

Cheng Yaojin, with his sharp ears, heard his son's voice and quickened his pace, but then deliberately slowed down, only glancing casually into the neighborhood.

Upon entering the gate, the first thing you see is the glass incense burner in the center, which is a size larger than last year's. The mouth of the burner glows with a warm orange light, unlike before when it flickered.

Several strings of glass blanks hung on the shelf beside the furnace. Some were translucent light blue, while others had light purple patterns. They were much fresher than the objects that were shrouded in mist last year.

Upon seeing Li Shimin and his group, Li Ke, Cheng Chumo, and the others did not come over immediately. They finished their work before coming over to greet them.

Li Shimin, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Qiong, and others were very satisfied with their three sons.

"Great job, great job, you've all worked hard, you've all worked hard."

"It's not hard work, this is quite interesting." Cheng Chumo scratched his head. "As long as you don't have to study."

"Say that again and I'll send you to the village school!" Cheng Yaojin said irritably.

Many people don't have the opportunity to study, but Cheng Chumo had the opportunity but might not have chosen to.

Li Ke smiled and picked up a piece of glass that had just cooled and handed it to Li Shimin:
“The material was mixed with small stones and dirt, which caused bubbles to appear when it was burned.”

"The young master taught us to sieve the quartz sand three times, using only the finest layer, and then wash it twice with clean water to remove the floating dust—'pure material makes for a transparent vessel.' After trying it more than ten times, we finally managed to remove most of the impurities."

Qin Qiong, who was standing next to him, took the glass shard and ran his fingertips along the edge. It was no longer rough as before: "This thing is also more sturdy. Last year, I brought back a small cup, and it cracked after I accidentally bumped it."

Qin Qiong felt a little sorry for the glass, as it was very expensive and a luxury item.

“I didn’t understand the principle of ‘annealing’ before.” Li Ke led everyone toward the small pottery kiln in the corner of the alley. “The young master said that if you let the glass cool directly after firing, it will ‘hide its strength’ and crack when touched.”

"Now, the fired clay pieces are put into this kiln to slowly lower the temperature. It takes most of the day for the clay to cool down. Last time, Dalang dropped a small plate on the straw mat, and it didn't break."

"What kinds of things can you make now?" Li Shimin asked.

Li Ke turned around and took a glass cup from the shelf. The cup was translucent, and the shallow patterns engraved on the bottom could be seen. "Besides cups and plates, I also tried to make some small beads, which can be strung together as ornaments."

"I used to always mess up the colors, but now I can get the amount of wood ash right and mix light blue and light purple, instead of the dark colors I used to get."

Xiao Ran added, "Sanlang can now calculate the ratio of quartz sand and wood ash, and he can also judge the furnace temperature by the color of the fire."

"Now he can do it himself, and he has figured out how to trim the clay and how to carve patterns."

Li Shimin looked at the light in Li Ke's eyes, then at Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaidao who were working diligently in the corner, and nodded and smiled, "To be able to go from 'knowing how to do' to 'doing well' something, you really put in the effort."

Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but walk over to Cheng Chumo's side, pretending to look at the material in the stone trough: "You've kneaded this material quite well. Don't be lazy, practice a few more times."

Cheng Chumo looked up and saw that it was his father. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded: "It's Grandpa. I'll rub it again and blow it into a cup for you to see later."

Qin Qiong walked over to Qin Huaidao and pointed to the wind instrument in his hand: "Don't blow too fast, breathe evenly."

Qin Huaidao responded, his movements becoming more steady.

Yuchi Jingde was not in Chang'an before, and he regretted not sending his own son over.

Learning the art of glassmaking will be very useful in the future.

It's not just because glass is a luxury item and valuable.

This is a strategic material of the Tang Dynasty, provided that its purity is high enough to make a telescope.

No one else knows how to make a telescope, so we still have to rely on Xiao Ran for these things.

Yuchi Jingde held up a cup. "It's really beautiful, almost transparent."

"If Uncle likes it, take some back with you later," Xiao Ran said.

"Hahaha, my dear nephew, then your uncle won't stand on ceremony." Yuchi Jingde laughed heartily.

"Old Blackie, I'm just being polite with you, but you really don't consider yourself an outsider!" Cheng Yaojin teased Yuchi Jingde.

"We're not strangers to begin with, this is too formal."

Not only Yuchi Jingde, but Li Shimin and the others also wanted to bring back some high-quality items.

Last year, Xiao Ran's glassmaking technology far surpassed that of other places in the Tang Dynasty, and now it is even more advanced.

The gap between the others and Xiao Ran is widening.

Li Ke and his group continued to make progress, while glassmaking techniques in other places basically stagnated.

Li Shimin and his companions knew very well that Li Ke, Cheng Chumo, and the others were completely clueless.

Those who have become masters are all thanks to Xiao Ran's guidance.

"Xiao Ran! Isn't this enough?" Li Shimin was getting impatient.

"Uncle, to achieve the point where the glass is placed here, you can't see anything unless you look closely," Xiao Ran picked up a plate. "This is still far from enough."

"Are all the glass lenses in the telescope like this?" Li Shimin would occasionally take out his telescope to take a look.

"It's difficult to produce glass of the same quality as the one used in the Thousand-Mile Eye. Let's try to increase the purity as much as possible so that the Thousand-Mile Eye can still use it!" Xiao Ran knew that this was the best way to put it.

This was the Tang Dynasty; the level of craftsmanship there cannot be compared to that of more than a thousand years later.

Li Shimin wanted to ask how things had been done before, but then thought better of it and decided against it.

Before leaving, Li Shimin pointed and said, "Put those away and give them to Ananda!"

Li Shimin started the selection process.

Yuchi Jingde, Cheng Yaojin, and Qin Qiong did not hold back either.

The glassware here is all sent to Chang'an to be sold, but it's hard to buy and very expensive.

They were mostly bought by wealthy businessmen.

Xiao Ran naturally made the money.

Li Shimin, Cheng Yaojin, and Qin Qiong can be considered as receiving wages from their three sons.

Xiao Ran didn't pay the people's wages, and he didn't mind these things.

"I heard from Sixth Sister that the tomatoes you planted are ready to eat, right?" Li Shimin asked.

"Yes, we picked quite a lot before, and even gave some to the villagers. The yield was good. Uncle, you should take some back with you later."

Li Shimin looked at Zhang Anan and said, "Anan, did you hear that? Don't be shy, bring more."

Zhang Anan gave an awkward smile, "It's Ah Lang!"

"Uncle, you're so stingy! You always try to take advantage of others!"

"So what? My family has a grand enterprise; we have to be careful with our finances!" Li Shimin laughed. (End of Chapter)