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

The little swallow, still fast asleep, had no idea that it had almost lost its life to a cat.

Fearing that Keke would go to Xiaoyanzi's place again, Xiao Ran simply carried Keke back to the living room before picking up the box containing Xiaoyanzi and intending to put it in his room.

"Little Swallow is asleep now. Let's go see her tonight," Xiao Ran said to the children.

The little princesses nodded very sensibly.

But before nightfall, the little swallow woke up, probably hungry, chirping away with its mouth open. However, it seemed to be in much better spirits than before.

Xiao Ran fed it as usual, but this time it was insects. The servants in the house went out of their way to dig them up, chopped them up, and fed them to Xiao Yanzi.

After eating, Little Swallow fell asleep again.

So when the little princess and her friends came to see Little Swallow, they found that Little Swallow was still sleeping.

"Little Yan is still sleeping~" the little princess said softly.

The other children also gathered around Xiao Yanzi, looking her over and over, but after a while, Xiao Ran told them to leave.

"Little Swallow needs to rest too. Only by sleeping more can Little Swallow grow up."

"I'm going to sleep now~ I'm growing up~" The little princess is very enthusiastic about growing up.

Xiao Ran smiled and patted the little princess's head. "Okay, you two go to sleep too, so you can grow up."

Seeing that the little ones had gone to sleep, Xiao Ran also went back to his room to sleep.

The next day, after the little princess and her friends saw Little Swallow, they went to school, while Xiao Ran went to do his work after feeding Little Swallow.

The potatoes had already been planted, and all the potatoes in the stockpile had been distributed and planted in various places. However, if potatoes are to be planted in all places, it will probably take several more harvests.

And today, it's time to prepare to plant sweet potatoes again.

The villagers take potatoes and sweet potatoes very seriously. After the potatoes are planted, they go to the field to check on them almost every day. Even if the potato vines don't change at all because of the short time, they are still happy to do so.

Xiao Ran went to Zhang Mingde's house.

Upon seeing Xiao Ran arrive, Zhang Mingde's heart stirred.

"Young master, is it time to plant sweet potatoes?"

Xiao Ran nodded, "Yes, it's ready to be planted."

This was a big deal, so Zhang Mingde quickly went to the open space in the village and banged a gong to call all the villagers over.

Once everyone had arrived, he said directly, "Young Master just said that we can start planting sweet potatoes!"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd.

"Great!"

"First potatoes, now sweet potatoes, life is getting better and better!"

"I heard they're going to plant tomatoes and cotton too, but I wonder when they'll be able to start!"

The villagers below were discussing animatedly, and Zhang Mingde knew how excited they were, so he didn't say anything.

Instead, he waited until they had finished their discussion before saying, "Alright, now that everyone knows the news, let's get to work!"

In order to grow potatoes and sweet potatoes properly, they pooled all the land in the village together, planting half potatoes and half sweet potatoes.

Because they weren't just growing them for their own consumption, but also to sell to Li Shimin. After all, potatoes and sweet potatoes weren't available throughout the Tang Dynasty. Even if they sent someone to buy them, the price would be too high, and the villagers wouldn't sell them if it was too low. These were life-saving things.

Kaolao Village didn't lack food, especially after Xiao Ran arrived, bringing down jackets and a glass workshop. The villagers lived very well and didn't lack food.

They kept a small portion of the potatoes and sweet potatoes for their own consumption, but sold the majority to Li Shimin. So they simply pooled all the land together to plant them, thinking that once this year's planting was finished, they could probably plant their own next year.

We planted potatoes on about half the land before, and now we've started planting sweet potatoes.

However, unlike potatoes, sweet potatoes are not planted directly as tubers, but as sweet potato seedlings.

The reason we're only starting to plant them now is because the sweet potato seedlings have just grown out.

There's nothing particularly difficult about growing sweet potatoes. They're easy to grow and can be planted in sandy soil.

For other seeds, sandy soil is too barren to survive, but sweet potatoes are different; they can thrive even in poor soil.

Watching the villagers plant sweet potatoes, Xiao Ran said, "Once the sweet potato vines have climbed up, you can cut them off every two leaves or so. These vines can be planted directly in the ground and they will survive."

So compared to potatoes, not everyone can have sweet potatoes right now, but after a while, there will be a batch of sweet potato vines that can be planted. As long as the ground freezes about two or three months before planting, it's just a matter of whether they grow well or not.

Then Xiao Ran added, "The leaves of these sweet potatoes are also edible. You can stir-fry them or blanch them and make a cold salad when you get home."

Sweet potatoes are truly a treasure trove; the leaves are edible, and the sweet potato itself is delicious.

Hearing Xiao Ran's words, the villagers worked even harder at farming.

"Little Nangjun, Little Nangjun~" The little princess suddenly ran over. Xiao Ran glanced at the sky and realized that he had unknowingly spent the whole morning in the field.

Even when the villagers were working, they didn't look tired or lifeless at all. Instead, they chatted with smiles, gossiping about this family and that family, and occasionally talking to Xiao Ran, asking questions like how long it would take for the sweet potatoes to ripen and how to cook them.

So, while watching them farm, occasionally helping out, and chatting with the villagers, the morning would pass quickly.

If the little princess hadn't arrived, Xiao Ran wouldn't have realized it at all.

"Did Sizi come to call me back for dinner?" Xiao Ran asked.

The little princess nodded eagerly, "Mmm-hmm~ Seven again~"

Xiao Ran took the little princess's hand and greeted the villagers: "I'll head back now. Don't forget to come home for dinner; a little more time won't make a difference."

The villagers nodded in agreement, but in reality, they had already brought their own food when they came, and they had no intention of going back for lunch. The sooner they finished planting, the sooner they could feel at ease.

Xiao Ran had no idea that while the villagers had agreed on the surface, they had actually turned around and gone back to work. Instead, he took the little princess's hand and walked towards home.

On the way, the little princess chattered excitedly to Xiao Ran about Little Swallow.

"Little Swallow is giving its little nest a kiss~"

The little princess raised her little hand.

When I returned at noon, I happened to catch Zhang Erya feeding Xiao Yanzi. The little princess's hand came closer, and Xiao Yanzi thought it was food, so she subconsciously touched it with her mouth. As a result, the little princess thought that Xiao Yanzi liked her and was kissing her.

Although Xiao Ran didn't see what happened at the time, he could guess pretty much what it was like. However, he didn't expose him, but instead smiled and agreed, "Yes, Little Swallow really likes our Sizi."

The little princess shook her head happily. Today she wore her hair in two buns with two small bells tied on them. When she shook them, the bells made a crisp sound.

The sun hung in the sky, exuding the fragrance of honey.

"Good, good, good, good~" The little princess held a small wooden stick with maltose on it.

These were just made by Xiao Ran, one for each of the little ones. The maltose is sticky and delicious, but they can't eat too many, or their teeth will rot.

"Little Nangjun~" The little princess's voice was muffled and carried a hint of pleading.

Xiao Ran looked down and saw the little princess struggling with maltose.

The maltose stuck to the stick, and the little ones were slowly licking it off, but the little princess was greedy and took a big bite. Now she can't open her mouth because her teeth are stuck.

Seeing the little princess's pleading eyes, Xiao Ran smiled.

"Hahaha, how did you do this, Sizi? Let me see."

Xiao Ran squatted down and looked at the little princess's mouth.

The little princess moved her mouth slightly, opening it only a tiny crack, and mumbled words, still sweet with the taste of maltose, escaped her lips: "I can't speak anymore~"

Xiao Ran asked, "Does your tooth hurt?"

The little princess shook her head.

Now Xiao Ran was completely relieved and patted the little princess's head.

"It's okay, the maltose will dissolve in a while. You can hold it in your mouth and eat it slowly."

The little princess looked at the maltose candy still hanging on the little stick, "But I can't keep this up!"

Even though she couldn't open her mouth wide, the little princess still tried to put the stick in her mouth.

Xiao Ran took the wooden stick from the little princess's hand.

"Don't eat this yet, wait until you finish what you have in your mouth."

The little princess covered her mouth, her cheeks moving constantly, trying to make the candy in her mouth melt faster so she could continue eating.

Xiao Ran handed the little princess's wooden stick to Princess Chengyang and instructed her, "Fanyin, hold this for Sizi and give it to her after she finishes eating."

Princess Chengyang nodded, "Okay."

Just then, a servant came over and said that someone had arrived.

A familiar tall, thin man.

"Qiuhe," Xiao Ran called out.

"Ah Lang," Qiu He said with a smile.

Today was the day they were supposed to come and pick up their toothbrushes and toothpaste. The servants brought out several boxes, which contained the toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Looking at the boxes of toothbrushes and toothpaste, Qiuhe said, "Alang, you don't know, these toothbrushes and toothpaste sell extremely well. The last batch we added has already sold out. So Uncle Zhao said that each person can only buy one toothbrush or one tube of toothpaste per day, and we only sell twenty toothbrushes and toothpastes every day."

Uncle Zhao, who was bought by Xiao Ran to be his accountant, was someone Xiao Ran had only asked for to be good at accounting and management. Little did he expect that this person would actually engage in scarcity marketing.

That makes sense, the production of toothbrushes and toothpaste is really limited. If they didn't sell them this way, those who couldn't buy them would tear their shops down.

Things are different now. The rules are set, and if you still can't buy it, it just means you didn't want it that much or you didn't come early enough.

"Ah Lang, you don't know, every day before we even open our shop, there's already a long queue outside. Some people even start queuing the night before."

Xiao Ran hadn't expected this, but upon reflection, it made sense. Toothbrushes were fine; as long as they weren't dropped or broken, they could be used for a while. But toothpaste was different; it was packaged in small jars, and a jar's worth wouldn't last more than a few days.

Although toothpaste can be replaced with tooth powder, tooth powder is not very effective. Once people have tried better toothpaste, no one wants to use tooth powder anymore.

Seeing Qiu He gesturing excitedly, Xiao Ran smiled, "Uncle Zhao's idea is good. When we settle the monthly wages at the end of the month, we'll give him a bonus."

Then, Xiao Ran looked at Qiu He and said, "You've worked hard traveling back and forth, you should too."

Qiu was overjoyed.

"Thank you, Ah Lang!"

After telling Xiao Ran about the situation inside the shop, Qiu He took the boxes and left.

After Qiu He left, Xiao Ran went to see Empress Zhangsun again and found that she was in good condition. Then he had Sun Simiao take her pulse and found that there was no sign of her illness, which put him at ease.

It's springtime now, and pollen and willow catkins can easily trigger Empress Zhangsun's illness, so the windows and doors in her room are almost always closed.

Although this was done in previous years, she would still fall ill. However, this year is different. So far, Empress Zhangsun has not fallen ill. Moreover, according to Empress Zhangsun herself, she feels much healthier and no longer feels chest tightness and shortness of breath after walking only a few steps.

After taking his pulse, Sun Simiao said, "Your condition is much better than before. I think you should be almost fully recovered by next spring."

Upon hearing this, Empress Zhangsun, Hongxiu, and Xiao Ran all breathed a sigh of relief.

Empress Zhangsun and Hongxiu, in particular, knew their own bodies. From the very beginning, Empress Zhangsun knew that she would not live for long. Her only regret was that she could not watch Sizi grow up and could not see Li Lizhi get married.

Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better when she met Xiao Ran and Sun Simiao, and her health improved significantly.

Later, when she became pregnant, Empress Zhangsun could feel that her health, which was improving, was deteriorating. She was worried that the child would not survive and that she herself would not survive.

But to my surprise, after staying here for a while, my health actually improved.

Empress Zhangsun looked at Xiao Ran with teary eyes, "Xiao Ran."

Before she could finish speaking, Empress Zhangsun choked up.

Xiao Ran quickly stepped forward, "Madam, you are feeling much better now, that's a good thing, please don't cry."

Hongxiu was also afraid that Empress Zhangsun might fall ill or have a miscarriage due to being too excited, so she quickly said, "Your Majesty, please don't cry, otherwise the young prince and the others will worry when they come over."

No sooner had the words been spoken than the little princess's voice rang out.

"Mommy~ I've come to play with you!"

Empress Zhangsun burst into laughter through her tears, took out a handkerchief to wipe them away, and said loudly, "It's Sizi, come in."

The little princess pushed open the door and came in, holding a wooden stick coated with maltose.

"Mother~ Seven~"

Empress Zhangsun took the malt candy and smiled, "Is this for Mother?"

The little princess nodded, "Yes, yes!"

Empress Zhangsun touched the little princess's face.

"Thank you for the candy, Sizi, but Mother won't eat it, Sizi can have it."

As she spoke, Empress Zhangsun was about to return the maltose to the little princess. (End of Chapter)