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

So Xiao Ran made the final decision, saying, "Alright, let's do it your way! I'll go check out the shop tomorrow."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Ran suddenly remembered that Li Shimin had previously bestowed a shop upon him.

But after thinking about it, even if we don't buy the shop, we should still go there, just as a way of taking everyone on a trip.

As for the production of the toothbrushes, Xiao Ran handed it all over to Zhang Mingde. As for what Zhang Mingde would do or who to ask for help, Xiao Ran didn't care. He just needed to make sure he received the finished products.

When it was time for dinner, Cheng Chumo and his group saw villagers working with bamboo on their way back from the glass workshop.

Xiao Ran exclaimed in surprise, "They're quite fast."

What Xiao Ran didn't know was that many villagers worked in groups of several people, each with their own responsibilities, which made things faster.

The five villagers who learned the skills taught with great dedication.

After dinner, looking at the pigskin on the ground, Xiao Ran paused for a moment, then turned to look at Cheng Chumo.

"Old Mo, do you know how to work with this leather?"

Cheng Chumo shook his head, "I don't know how, I haven't learned this."

Xiao Ran was now in a dilemma, as only a few experienced hunters knew this craft of making leather.

Li Ke looked at the pigskin on the ground, thought for a moment, and said, "I know a little about it, but I've never done it before, so I don't know if it will work."

Xiao Ran looked at Li Ke with some surprise.

"Sanlang, please try it. It's just some pigskin. If it doesn't work, then don't bother with it."

Li Ke nodded and ordered someone to throw the pigskin into the warehouse, saying they would deal with it tomorrow.

At this moment, Cheng Chumo asked, "Young master, are you going to town tomorrow?"

Xiao Ran nodded. "Yes, what's wrong?"

Cheng Chumo scratched his head. "Hehe, can we come along tomorrow too?"

Xiao Ran waved his hand and said, "Why not? We can all go together, see what we need, buy some of everything, and also some pastries and snacks for these little ones."

To be honest, the little princesses didn't have many snacks. They only had chestnuts and the biscuits and candies that Xiao Ran brought out. They hadn't finished the beef jerky yet, but it looked like there wasn't much left.

Aside from the Poria cocos cake from that time, we don't have any other pastries at home. This time, I might be able to see if there are any good pastries available.

Moreover, it's a good opportunity to go to the grain store and pick up the pigskin. Xiao Ran doesn't plan to buy any more pigskin anytime soon, since it's still unknown whether it can be tanned.

After discussing tomorrow's plans, the group went back to sleep.

The morning sun pierced through the clouds and shone on the frost-covered cobblestones of the street, casting a pale golden glow.

The shop banners on both sides of the street swayed gently in the chilly wind, the stoves selling flatbreads steamed with heat, and the aroma of mutton soup mixed with the fragrance of spices filled the air.

The little princess was held in Xiao Ran's arms. She looked around and suddenly her gaze settled on one spot.

"Little Nangjun~ Seven Fruits~"

Xiao Ran found it somewhat strange.

"Eat fruit? What kind of fruit does Sizi want to eat?" Xiao Ran asked.

The little princess pointed to an old man carrying a straw target not far away.

"Seven, that duck~"

Xiao Ran took a look and realized it was candied hawthorn, so he walked over.

"Old man, how much are these candied hawthorns?"

The old man had a very kind face and said with a smile, "Three coins a string."

Xiao Ran looked at everyone, then at the candied hawthorns on the straw target, and said directly, "Give me all these candied hawthorns."

There were only a dozen or so candied hawthorns left. Each of them took one skewer and didn't have many left. They took the extras back for Li Tai and the others who couldn't come.

The old man was overjoyed to hear this.

"Thank you, young master, thank you, young master."

Li Lizhi took out money from her purse and handed it to the old man, while Cheng Chumo gave each of the little ones a skewer of candied hawthorns.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran said, "Everyone should get some. Don't just give it to these little ones; they can't eat much anyway."

As he spoke, Xiao Ran took two skewers for himself, one for himself and the other for Li Lizhi.

The others each received a string of skewers, and Cheng Chumo simply carried the rest on his shoulder.

Xiao Ran took a bite of the candied hawthorn and, to be honest, it wasn't very tasty.

The candy was hard, and the hawthorn inside was very sour.

However, the little princess seemed to be enjoying the candied hawthorn.

Xiao Ran looked around and asked Li Lizhi, "Fifth Sister, do you know where the shop Uncle gave me is?"

Li Lizhi nodded. "I know. Shall we go now?"

Xiao Ran glanced at the lively surroundings and the little princess's curious gaze, then smiled and said, "Never mind, we're not in a hurry anyway, let's take a look around first."

The street was bustling with people coming and going when suddenly, everyone heard a commotion.

Xiao Ran looked in that direction and saw that someone was performing with monkeys.

There were many people gathered around, so Xiao Ran simply picked up the little princess and walked forward.

The crowd shielded Li Lizhi and Princess Zhang Erniang of Yuzhang in the middle, while Zhang Dalang carried Sanniang, and Cheng Chumo and the others each carried a small child. The group squeezed through the crowd and came to the front.

In the center of the arena stood a tall, thin man wearing an old sheepskin coat, his face weathered and worn, bowing to the audience around him.

Beside him, a brown monkey wearing a red cloth jacket and a funny little hat was blinking its eyes cleverly and scratching its ears and cheeks, making everyone laugh.

"Fellow villagers, I'm new to your esteemed land, so please excuse my poor performance!" The man's voice boomed as he struck the gong and drum. "Let me, your monkey brother, greet you all first!"

The monkey seemed to understand human speech. It immediately stood up, hugged its two front paws, and bowed to the surroundings in a very proper manner. Its adorable appearance immediately drew laughter, especially cheers from the children.

After the monkey came out and greeted everyone, the man who performed the tricks took out three ordinary white porcelain bowls, skillfully weighed them in his hands, and said to the crowd, "I don't have any great skills, I only know a few simple tricks. Next, I'll perform a 'Three Stars Shining Brightly' act, so please enjoy the show!"

After saying that, he took a deep breath, flicked his wrist, and threw a porcelain bowl into the air, drawing a beautiful arc.

Before the first bowl could fall, the second and third bowls flew up in succession.

With a flick of his wrists, the three white porcelain bowls seemed to be drawn by invisible threads, spinning in the air in a continuous circle, without a single one falling.

Sunlight shone on the porcelain bowl, reflecting dappled white light that was dazzling to the eye.

"Wow!" A burst of exclamations erupted from the crowd.

The little princess stared wide-eyed, forgetting even to gasp in surprise. She was so engrossed in watching the porcelain bowls tumbling up and down that her little hands unconsciously gripped Xiao Ran's clothes tightly, as if afraid they would fall and shatter.

Only when the man gracefully finished his move, placing the three bowls steadily in his palm, did she breathe a long sigh of relief, clapping her hands vigorously, her clear voice standing out: "So awesome~ Little Nangjun~ He's so awesome~"

Her cheers drew the attention of the monkey trainer and the little monkey, who both glanced in her direction.

The little monkey seemed particularly fond of this spirited little girl. It hopped and skipped to a spot not far from the little princess, bowed, and then pulled out a dried date from behind its back and offered it to her.

The little princess was both surprised and delighted, and looked up at Xiao Ran with a questioning gaze.

Xiao Ran smiled and nodded. Only then did the little princess carefully reach out and take the dried date from the little monkey's furry paws.

She held it in her hands like a precious treasure, her little face beaming with joy, and said softly to the little monkey, "Thank you~"

Then she looked at Xiao Ran with a happy expression, "Little Nangjun~ It likes to eat~" Xiao Ran patted the little princess's head.

"Yes, this little monkey likes you."

The little princess tilted her head and thought for a moment, then took out the roasted chestnuts she hadn't finished eating from her pocket and handed them to the little monkey.

"Give it to you, little duck~"

The little monkey took the chestnut and bowed to the little princess.

This scene warmed the hearts of the surrounding audience, who all laughed. Li Lizhi couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

The performance continued. The little monkey rode a unicycle and went through hoops. The acrobats performed knife swallowing and fire breathing. Each act drew thunderous applause. Copper coins were thrown into the arena like raindrops. Xiao Ran and his friends even threw in a few silver coins.

As the juggling ended and the crowd gradually dispersed, the little princess lingered, watching the little monkey eating chestnuts with lingering reluctance.

Xiao Ran patted her head: "Let's go, Sizi, we should go to the shop."

The little princess nodded and followed Xiao Ran.

The shop is on the east side, not far from here, so it only took a short walk to get there.

The shop was now empty, making it feel somewhat spacious, but the ground was flat, the beams and pillars were sturdy, and there was a small courtyard and two side rooms at the back.

The little princess and her third sister ran around curiously in the empty shop, their footsteps echoing.

Xiao Ran looked around and found that the shop was big enough and in a good location. If it weren't for Li Shimin's reward, it would have been impossible to buy such a shop.

Looking at the empty shop, Xiao Ran said, "Put a few rows of shelves here. The front doesn't need to be changed; it'll be perfect as a place to collect money."

The little princess came running over.

"Little Nang~ Is this place ours?"

Xiao Ran nodded, "Yes, this is our shop, we can sell things here."

The little princess's eyes lit up.

"Selling little monkeys~"

Xiao Ran laughed, "We can't sell this monkey. We want to sell toothbrushes, toothpaste, and the soaps we make."

Soap?

The little princess tilted her head.

"Little Nang~ We forgot about Xiangxiang~"

Xiao Ran only just remembered that the soap he made hadn't been unmolded yet.

Seeing the little princess's disappointed expression, Xiao Ran said, "It's alright, we can unmold it when we get back."

The little princess nodded happily, "Okay~ Hehe~ I want it to smell nice~"

After Li Lizhi and Princess Yuzhang returned from browsing the entire shop, Princess Yuzhang asked, "What would be a good name for this shop?"

This is a good question. A group of people brainstormed, and Xiao Ran also pondered deeply.

Li Ke and Qin Huaidao suggested several names, but no one was satisfied. Xiao Ran thought for a long time and then decided to just go for it and said, "Why don't we just call it a general store? After all, we sell all kinds of odds and ends."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent. This was far too hasty, but it must be said that Xiao Ran's words made a lot of sense.

Thus, Xiao Ran's first shop was given such a hasty and casual name.

After choosing a name, Xiao Ran led his men toward the carpenter's address, which they had obtained from passersby.

I had a few containers made by the carpenter, and then I inquired about where the brokerage firm was.

Having a shop is useless without employees.

Xiao Ran originally planned to hire someone, but he was destined not to be in the shop often, and Cheng Chumo and the others did not have time either, so the person who looked after the shop had to be trustworthy.

But who knows if the people you hire are trustworthy? You can't judge a book by its cover. So Xiao Ran decided to just buy people directly.

Based on the size of the shop, I bought a person who could do accounting and management, as well as several quick and efficient servants, intending to have them busy in the shop.

However, the shop definitely won't be open for the next few days; it needs to be cleaned and renovated.

Xiao Ran glanced at the sky and asked, "Are you hungry?"

At first, no one had noticed, but after hearing Xiao Ran say that, they realized they were hungry.

The little princess clutched her tummy and exclaimed, "I'm so hungry!"

Xiao Ran looked around and pointed to a restaurant, saying, "They sell sesame cakes over there, shall we go and eat some?"

The little princess loves sesame cakes, and nodded quickly upon hearing this.

This eatery not only serves sesame cakes, but also mutton soup.

A sip of mutton soup and a bite of sesame flatbread, and you feel warm all over after eating.

After lunch, everyone planned to stroll around some more, but Zhang Dalang was worried about the glass stove and decided to go back first, taking the newly bought servant and the unfinished candied hawthorns with him.

Xiao Ran and his companions continued their stroll.

"This dried fruit looks good."

Li Lizhi pointed to a shop and said.

Xiao Ran went over to take a look, but couldn't recognize what kind of fruit it was made of.

The shop owner was very welcoming.

"Young gentlemen and young ladies, please have a taste. Our candied fruit is delicious."

Xiao Ran didn't eat any, but Li Lizhi tried one and nodded.

"Young master, shall we buy some of this? It's delicious."

Xiao Ran nodded, "Buy it if you like it. I see he has other kinds too, see which one you like, and let's buy more."

The shopkeeper was overjoyed; this was a big deal! So he introduced the business even more enthusiastically.

The little princess's mouth watered as she looked at the golden dried fruit.

"Little Nang-kun~ I want this~"

Xiao Ran took a look and, judging from its appearance, it should be a kind of preserved plum.

"Okay, if Sizi wants to eat it, we'll buy it."

Finally, Xiao Ran and his group bought several large bags of dried fruit, enough to last them a long time.

Seeing that the store also had honey, Xiao Ran bought two jars.

Cheng Chumo, carrying his things, sighed.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have let Zhang Dalang go back first. I should have let him leave after he finished shopping, so he could have taken the things with him."

It's no wonder Cheng Chumo said that. I don't know if shopping is a woman's nature, or if Li Lizhi and the others have been cooped up for too long and want to buy everything they see.

Princess Yuzhang even bought a fox fur coat.

The snow-white fox fur is very beautiful, but also very heavy.

Cheng Chumo, carrying it, looked utterly dejected. (End of Chapter)