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

As Xiao Ran and Li Ke walked out, they saw Qin Huaidao gesturing wildly with his small round glass in his hand.

"What's done?" Xiao Ran suddenly asked. Qin Huaidao looked over immediately, then ran over and handed the glass to Xiao Ran.

"Young man, look at this. Could this glass be used to make a telescope?"

Xiao Ran took the glass and looked at it through the sunlight.

Putting everything else aside, this glass is at least polished very smoothly. When Xiao Ran looked through the glass, it was no different from modern glass.

"This glass is fine, but to make it for telescopes, the edges need to be ground thinner."

Regardless, this is a big step forward, and Li Ke is very happy.

"Great! Wouldn't that mean we can make the telescope much faster?"

Xiao Ran couldn't say for sure, since the timing was uncertain and things would have to take their time. However, he figured it would be soon, so he didn't try to dampen Xiao Ran's enthusiasm.

Qin Huaidao was so excited that he didn't even want to eat lunch, only thinking about polishing the glass. It was Xiao Ran who dragged him to eat.

Lunch was no different from usual. Xiao Ran sat with the little princess, who was eating rice with gusto, which made Xiao Ran's appetite grow.

“When I eat with Sizi, I have to eat an extra bowl of rice,” Xiao Ran said with a smile.

The little princess picked up a piece of meat and put it into Xiao Ran's bowl.

"Little Nangjun Qiduoduo Duck~"

Xiao Ran ate the meat with a look of satisfaction.

"Okay, I'll eat lots."

After lunch, the little princess couldn't stay still and wanted to go out and play.

Xiao Ran dressed the little princess in thick clothes before letting her out.

"Hehe~ Come catch the ducklings~"

The little princess ran ahead, constantly asking the Chengyang and Gaoyang princesses to catch her.

Princess Gaoyang went straight for the little princess.

"I've got you now!"

The little princess's silvery laughter echoed throughout the courtyard.

Yan Yao ran and jumped along with them, but San Niang didn't follow. Instead, she and Di Renjie stood aside watching them, afraid that they might accidentally fall.

Li Lizhi sat at the doorway with a brazier at her feet, watching them play with a smile.

After they've run around wildly for a while, let them come inside to drink some water and warm up before letting them go out to play again.

After playing chasing each other for a while, even the most energetic children were a little tired.

"Come and rest for a while," Li Lizhi called them back and then went inside.

The room was warm, and a group of children simply sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and continued chatting noisily. I don't know what they were talking about, but they all seemed to be having a good time.

Listening to their innocent chatter, Li Lizhi smiled and said, "Aren't you thirsty talking so much?"

The little princess smacked her lips, "I want some water!"

Soon, a cup of warm water was in the little princess's hands, and naturally, everyone else received one as well.

As if by magic, Li Lizhi produced a bag of roasted chestnuts.

"Do you want some chestnuts?" Li Lizhi asked.

The little princess nodded repeatedly when she saw the roasted chestnuts, exclaiming, "I want seven!"

The little princess handed over the chestnuts and began distributing them to her friends one by one, doing so very carefully. She even remembered Li Lizhi's share.

After the chestnuts are divided, you can enjoy their sweet flavor.

The little princess took a big bite of the soft and chewy chestnut, and a small piece of chestnut was gone.

After finishing her food, the little princess picked up her little water cup to drink some water, and then continued eating.

The room was unusually quiet now, as the noisiest ones were all engrossed in the aroma of chestnuts.

After finishing lunch, Xiao Ran went to the glass workshop with Li Ke and the others.

The glass furnace was still working diligently. Zhang Dalang silently returned to his post, and Qin Huaidao continued grinding glass. He had discovered a new method for grinding glass. Although he still used sand and gravel, he found that he could add tooth powder to it to help. The finished product was much better than before.

Qin Huaidao is now using a new one to test whether his method is effective.

Xiao Ran and Li Ke returned to their work of piecing together the glass, along with Cheng Chumo. Fortunately, the fish glue was useful; unfortunately, the glass simply couldn't be pieced together.

Xiao Ran stood up and let out a long breath. "It seems that if all else fails, we'll have to use molten iron to cast it."

Casting with molten iron is quite troublesome, especially since Xiao Ran was afraid that if it wasn't cast well, not to mention whether the shape would look good, it would also easily cause the glass to break.

Cheng Chumo stared at the broken glass for a long time, then asked, "Does it have to be molten iron? Can't we use something else?"

Xiao Ran looked at Cheng Chumo.

"With what?"

Cheng Chumo scratched his head. "How about we fill it with sawdust or bamboo or something?"

Xiao Ran thought about it for a moment and realized that it was indeed feasible!
"Just use sawdust! Mix the glue and sawdust together, then fill the middle with it and press it down. After it dries, sand it again, and that should be about right."

Although glass is not perfectly sealed, some parts can still be aligned. As long as the difference is not too great, a little polishing is enough, so the area that needs to be filled is not very large.

Xiao Ran sent someone to his third grandfather's place to get some sawdust. His family had some in stock, since sawdust was very useful for starting a fire.

After getting the wood chips, I started mixing them with glue and then began gluing the glass.

Once a piece of glass is finished, set it aside to dry.

They wanted to confirm whether the method was feasible, so they didn't proceed to the next step but left.

Outside, Qin Huaidao was diligently polishing the glass, occasionally dipping it in tooth powder. Looking at the tooth powder, Xiao Ran had a flash of inspiration.

Seeing Xiao Ran's expression, Li Ke asked, "What have you thought of this time?"

Xiao Ran didn't answer, but instead kept everyone in suspense.

"You'll know when the time comes."

Seeing that he couldn't get an answer, Li Ke raised an eyebrow and didn't ask any further questions.

Seeing that Qin Huaidao's hands were getting sore from grinding the glass, the others simply went up to help.

This time, we simply ground the glass to resemble a convex lens. With a good method, we weren't afraid of damaging it, so we decided to use this as an experimental sample.

"Let's go check on the windows. I reckon they should be dry by now," Xiao Ran said.

Li Ke nodded, Cheng Chumo stayed behind to help Qin Huaidao, and Xiao Ran and Li Ke went to look at the glass.

"We can't tell anything from this, so let's just put it on first."

The window made of broken glass looks pretty good so far, but I wonder how it is from the outside.

Li Ke naturally listened to Xiao Ran, and the two of them took the window and several young men to the classroom.

The classroom was empty by then, which made it convenient for Xiao Ran and his team to install the windows.

"We'll wait until tomorrow to check, mainly to see if it leaks air."

With the windows in good condition, Xiao Ran went home.

The little princess inside the house was overjoyed to see Xiao Ran return.

"Little Nang-kun~ Nifei's here~"

The little princess ran towards the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), trying to get down by herself, but unfortunately, she was too small and her legs were too short, so she ended up hanging on the edge of the kang and couldn't get down.

"Little Nangjun~ Lots of cuddly ducklings~"

Seeing the little princess's two short legs wobbling back and forth, Xiao Ran couldn't help but laugh. But he was also afraid that the little princess might get hurt, so he quickly went over and picked her up.

"Sizi, you can't be so reckless next time. What if you get hurt?"

The little princess nodded, "Wokjidao~" Xiao Ran put the little princess back on the kang and immediately noticed the chestnuts that hadn't been finished eating.

"Were you eating chestnuts just now?"

The little princess nodded happily.

"That's great~"

As she spoke, the little princess took one from the kang (a heated brick bed) and handed it to Xiao Ran.

"Little Nangjun is also seven~"

Xiao Ran reached out and took it. "Okay, I'll eat it too."

Just now, Li Lizhi was afraid that the little princess and the others would get sick if they went out in the wind, so she didn't let them go out. Now that Xiao Ran has arrived, the little princess seems to have found a support. She puts one arm around Xiao Ran's neck and points outside with the other.

"Little Nang-kun~ I want to go out and play~"

Xiao Ran chuckled as he teased the little princess.

"Going out to play? What do you want to do outside, Sizi?"

The little princess tilted her head and thought for a long time, but couldn't say anything.

The main thing is that they're currently just playing around, running around everywhere, or exploring and looking for flowers and plants.

However, most of the flowers and plants have already withered, and Li Lizhi doesn't allow them to go too far for fear of them getting cold.

Xiao Ran also realized that the little princesses and the others didn't have many things to play with, so he thought for a moment and said, "How about I make a shuttlecock for Sizi?"

The little princess has never heard of shuttlecock before, and at her age, even if she had, she would have long forgotten it; all she knows is that it's fun.

"Good duck, good duck~ I want a thousand ducks~"

"It's a shuttlecock, a shuttlecock—!"

"Thousand Sons~"

"Shuttlecock".

"Thousand-Child Duck~"

After the little princess finished speaking, she blinked her eyes, completely unaware that there was anything wrong with it, which made Xiao Ran chuckle.

"A thousand pieces it is. Sizi is waiting on the kang. I'll go make it for you."

The little princess nodded quickly and let go of Xiao Ran's arms.

Xiao Ran turned around and went out to find materials.

Now that winter has just begun, many families will slaughter chickens and ducks during this period because it's cold and they will lose weight if they continue to raise them, which would be a loss.

Of course, this only applies to males, because females need to be kept to lay eggs.

Xiao Ran strolled around the village, and everyone he saw greeted him.

"Jinniang." Xiao Ran saw Zhang Jinhe, who was doing something in the courtyard.

"Young master," Zhang Jinhe greeted Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran asked, "Do you have any rooster tail feathers at home?"

Zhang Jinhe shook his head, looking puzzled. "No, what do you need this for?"

Thinking of the little princess, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on Xiao Ran's face.

"Sizi and the others don't have anything to play with, so I want to make them a shuttlecock."

Zhang Jinhe smiled and said, "Oh, I see. Wait for me."

With that, Zhang Jinhe turned and went inside. A moment later, she came out with a shuttlecock in her hand.

"I have some ready-made here, you can take it."

Farm children only have a few things to play with when they are young. Zhang Jinhe naturally had a shuttlecock, but now that she is older, she feels that she is a young lady and should pay attention to her figure, so she no longer plays with it.

Another reason is that no one plays with her anymore.

Xiao Ran didn't stand on ceremony with her. He took the shuttlecock, thanked her, and then said, "When you have time, go find Wu Niang and the others to play together."

Zhang Jinhe nodded and watched Xiao Ran leave.

"Little Nangjun, are you still here?"

The little princess looked out the window and sighed for the umpteenth time, looking like a little adult, which made Li Lizhi laugh. However, she still comforted her, "Young master will be back soon. Shall we wait for a while? Do you want to play cat's cradle?"

The little princess nodded, took a red string from the basket on top of the cabinet, and played with Li Lizhi.

As they were playing, they heard footsteps outside.

"Is this Little Nang-jun?"

The little princess stopped playing cat's cradle and stared directly at the doorway.

Xiao Ran pushed open the door and walked in the next second.

"Little Nang-kun~ You're finally back~"

The little princess remembered what Xiao Ran had just said, so this time she didn't try to get off the kang (heated brick bed).

Xiao Ran waved the shuttlecock in his hand at the little princess.

"Let's go play shuttlecock."

The little princess eagerly opened her arms, letting Xiao Ran carry her off the kang (heated brick bed).

Seeing this, Li Lizhi quickly picked up the little princess's coat that was placed aside and put it on her.

There are a few other little ones who need to be dressed warmly before they can go out to play.

After getting dressed, the group walked outside, with Li Lizhi, Zhang Erya, and San Niang following behind.

Xiao Ran handed the shuttlecock to the little princess, "Go ahead and play."

The little princess took the shuttlecock, looked it over from all angles, then looked up at Xiao Ran with her big eyes full of confusion, almost as if she wanted to ask him directly, "What are you playing?"

Seeing this, Li Lizhi chuckled and took the shuttlecock from the little princess's hand.

“Look, Sizi, this is how you kick it.”

As she spoke, Li Lizhi released the shuttlecock, which fell naturally. Then, she kicked it up again and again, one after another, without ever touching the ground. The little princess watched with her mouth agape.

Wow~ Big sister is so amazing~

The little princess clapped her hands incessantly, her face flushed with excitement.

After kicking the shuttlecock a few times, Li Lizhi returned it to the little princess.

"Alright, Sizi, go play."

The little princess took the shuttlecock, and imitating Li Lizhi, she put the shuttlecock down and then raised her short legs.

As expected, the shuttlecock had already landed, but the little princess had only just lifted her leg.

Moreover, the little princess's bones are not fully developed yet, so she cannot stand on one leg at all. Even the leg she raises is not bent like when kicking a shuttlecock, but straight.

Looking at her leg, the little princess refused to believe it and kicked again, but missed again. Frustrated, she puffed out her cheeks and slapped her leg.

"You're being naughty, duck~"

Seeing the little princess's huffy expression, Xiao Ran was amused. After laughing for a while, he comforted her, "It's okay, it's just the first time she kicks. Everyone's like this. She'll get better after kicking a few more times."

The little princess believed it and picked up the shuttlecock again. This time, she managed to touch it, and she was overjoyed.

"Little Nang-kun~ I'm here now~"

Xiao Ran enthusiastically joined in the praise, "Sizi, you learned it so quickly! You're amazing!"

The little princess, praising the prince, couldn't hide the pride on her face. (End of Chapter)