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Although bluestone slabs are not as sturdy as cement, they are more charming when paired with the surrounding trees.

The mountain wind, carrying the heat of the grass and trees, blew on Xiao Ran.

While Xiao Ran and Zhang Mingde were exchanging questions, more villagers gradually arrived, including men, women, and children. The men stood on tiptoe, their sleeves tucked in, while the women held their children and whispered among themselves.

This was the first time they had ever seen a road paved with "cement," especially after they heard that cement, once solidified, was even stronger than bluestone slabs and wouldn't be slippery on rainy days. The villagers discussed it with great enthusiasm.

Seeing that more and more villagers were gathering, Xiao Ran was afraid that some people might be curious and damage the newly paved steps, so he stopped what he was doing and solemnly instructed them: "Everyone, these cement steps are soft when they are first laid. It will take seven or eight days for them to completely harden. During this time, please be careful and do not touch the mortar or step on the steps."

Fortunately, the villagers weren't ignorant children. As soon as Xiao Ran said not to touch the steps, they immediately took a few steps back, keeping their distance from the steps. Some even smiled and said to Xiao Ran, "Don't worry, young master, we'll definitely be careful!"

The others immediately responded. Zhang Mingde thought for a moment and said, "Young master, don't worry, I will have the villagers take turns watching over this place."

Although Xiao Ran felt it was unnecessary, the broken steps were a minor issue; the real danger was that someone might fall headfirst into them, which could be fatal. Therefore, it was better to have someone watching over them.

“Then let’s do as Muramasa says,” Xiao Ran said.

Afterwards, Xiao Ran called the young men to continue working, and the next step was to start pouring the concrete.

As the sun gradually sets in the west, the sunlight softens, and the golden afterglow spills across the mountains, bathing the newly paved steps in a warm glow.

"Finally finished." Xiao Ran wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to the young men, "Today counts as overtime, there's a bonus!"

Several young people cheered instantly.

Xiao Ran took them and the tools scattered on the ground and went home.

The young people naturally received money from Li Lizhi, and now Li Lizhi is responsible for most of the household expenses.

Xiao Ran went to find the little princess.

It's strange, but in the past, whenever Xiao Ran came back, the little princess would definitely rush over, but today there was no sign of her.

"Sizi? Sizi?" Xiao Ran called out twice and walked towards the backyard.

Upon entering the backyard, Xiao Ran saw the little princess sitting on a stone bench. Princess Chengyang, Princess Gaoyang, Yan Yao, and Di Renjie were all standing in a circle around the little princess, while San Niang was sitting next to the little princess, holding something in her hand.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Ran asked.

Upon hearing the sound, the little ones immediately looked up.

"Little Nangjun~" The little princess's voice was full of joy, but it was followed by a sense of grievance.

"Little Pouch~ This is broken~"

The little princess pointed to the shuttlecock in her third sister's hand and said.

Xiao Ran looked down and saw that the base of the shuttlecock was a bit scattered, and only one feather remained.

The little princess said with a pitiful expression, "This blanket is ruined!"

Today, while Xiao Ran and the others were working on cement, the little ones went up the mountain with Li Lizhi and Li Wu. They originally planned to pick some wild fruits, but when they got there, they found that all the wild fruits had already been picked clean by the village children.

Children in the village have few snacks to eat, and these wild fruits are among the few fruits available, so the children in the village know the wild fruits in the mountains like the back of their hand.

It was only because Xiao Ran and his group arrived early, before the village children had a chance to go up the mountain, that they were able to pick the fruit. If they had gone with the other children this time, they definitely wouldn't have found anything, unless they went to the inner area.

The little princess was disappointed that she hadn't picked any fruit, so the little ones suggested playing shuttlecock. But unexpectedly, the little princess kicked the shuttlecock against the wall with all her might, and then the shuttlecock broke.

This made the little princess even sadder.

Princess Gaoyang patted the little princess on the back and said, "It's alright, Sizi, the young master will definitely be able to fix it!"

Xiao Ran smiled and reached out a finger to gently stroke the little princess's nose.

"I thought it was something serious, but it's just a broken shuttlecock. I can fix it for you tomorrow."

The main problem is that the feathers on the shuttlecock were kicked off, and to fix it, Li Wu will have to go to the mountains to catch a pheasant tomorrow.

Hearing that it could be fixed, the little princess instantly became happy.

"Little Nangjun is so amazing~" the little princess praised sincerely.

However, although the shuttlecock was repaired the next day, the little princess was still afraid that it would break, so she was very careful and dared not play with it.

After a day, the steps were completely repaired, and Xiao Ran and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

It just so happens that today is also a rest day for the little ones.

Seeing that the children weren't playing shuttlecock, Xiao Ran didn't mind, but asked, "Do you still want to go up the mountain?"

The little ones all shook their heads, and Yan Yao even said, "There are no more fruits left on the mountain."

The other little ones nodded in agreement.

Third Sister said, "They go up the mountain to find fruit to eat every year around this time, and I used to go too."

Xiao Ran patted each of their little heads. "So, what do you want to play? Fly kites?"

The little ones' eyes lit up.

"Okay! Let's fly kites!"

Last winter, Xiao Ran made a kite for them, and now they can take it out to play with it.

A few kids were flying kites there. Xiao Ran thought for a moment, then went to find Craftsman Liu. He then took Craftsman Liu, a pile of wood, and tools back to the courtyard.

Noticing the commotion, the little princess stopped flying her kite and ran over to ask, "Little Nang-jun~ what are you doing~"

Xiao Ran said with a smile, "I'm making new toys for you guys."

The little princess tilted her head, "What's with the 'tidy' thing?"

Xiao Ran kept the little princess in suspense, teasing her, "You'll know when it's finished. Let's go fly a kite now."

Although the little princess was curious, she couldn't care less about her curiosity when she heard Princess Gaoyang calling her from the other side, and she quickly ran over to play with them.

After the little princess left, Xiao Ran said to Craftsman Liu, "Just do as I just said."

Craftsman Liu nodded, picked up the ink line, and precisely marked the line on the wood.

The four main support pieces were each sawn to be three feet long, and two slightly thinner pieces were sawn to be one foot long to reinforce the bottom of the support. The planks were kept to their original length and the width was just right.

What they're making is a children's slide.

Considering the small size of the little ones, the slide was made to be smaller.

Then, craftsman Liu first firmly fixed a pine log to a specially made bench, stepped on the edge of the bench with his foot to prevent the wood from wobbling and veering off course while sawing, and then picked up the saw and steadily sawed along the inked line.

The sound of the saw cutting into the wood was dull and rhythmic, and sawdust fell down the cut and piled up at his feet.

Xiao Ran also helped out. Logically speaking, Xiao Ran wasn't really needed, but since he had nothing else to do, he figured he might as well find some work for himself.

Before long, the first support piece was sawn, the cut was smooth and even, and the length was perfect. Craftsman Liu picked up another piece of wood and continued sawing. Next came sanding the planks. Craftsman Liu and Xiao Ran each sat on a small stool, one plank each.

They held the wooden board firmly with their left hand and gripped the plane tightly with their right, sanding it little by little along the grain, not only on the front of the board, but also on the back and edges.

The front side needs to be sanded smooth, with no bumps to the touch. The edges need to be repeatedly sanded into rounded shapes to avoid sharp edges scratching the little guys. The back side, although not in contact with the body, is also sanded to ensure there are no splinters.

Finally! All the timber is ready.

"Alright, we can start assembling now!" Xiao Ran said.

The backyard was large. Xiao Ran chose a flat spot in the open space and set up the four main supports in a rectangular shape, with the distance between each pair of supports being precise.

Next, he picked up a short post and nailed it to the bottom inside of the two main supports. After securing the bottom post, he picked up two crossbeams and nailed them to the top of the supports, firmly connecting the four supports together. The entire frame instantly became stable and could not be moved by hand.

This idea was actually proposed by craftsman Liu; Xiao Ran certainly wouldn't have thought of it on his own.

To confirm safety, Xiao Ran deliberately pushed it hard, and finding it didn't budge, he gave Liu the craftsman a thumbs up.

"Great!"

Liu, the craftsman, scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly. These things were just basic skills for him, nothing to be praised for.

And
Liu the craftsman imitated Xiao Ran by giving a thumbs up.

What does it mean?
Craftsman Liu was completely bewildered.

Soon, a slide was erected in the yard.

This slide took Xiao Ran and Liu the craftsman a whole morning to complete.

The little princesses had long since stopped flying kites and were instead watching from a distance.

Now, seeing a large wooden object standing up before their eyes, the little ones couldn't resist and ran towards Xiao Ran.

The little princess knew these were toys Xiao Ran had made for them, but she hadn't expected them to be so big. She eagerly asked, "Little Nang-jun~ What's this duck~ I want to play with it~"

Xiao Ran pinched the little princess's face and shook it back and forth.

"It seems that our Sizi is not only a little glutton, but also a little playful."

After teasing the little princess, Xiao Ran said, "Wait, there's still one thing missing."

After saying that, Xiao Ran sent someone to fetch a cushion.

This cushion was originally meant for the carriage, but it's fine to use it temporarily.

Xiao Ran laid a thick mat on the ground at the bottom of the slide so that when the little ones slid down, they could land on the mat and wouldn't bounce on their bottoms and hurt them.

Xiao Ran even adjusted the position of the mat to ensure it could catch the little guy who had slid down.

Seeing the unfamiliar objects before them, the little ones started chattering excitedly.

What kind of toy is this?

"I don't know either, why don't you ask the young master?"

"This toy is bigger than a rocking horse!"

Listening to the little ones' chatter, Xiao Ran smiled and said, "This is called a slide."

"Slide!" Although they didn't know what a slide was, it didn't dampen the little ones' excitement.

Xiao Ran asked with a smile, "Who wants to try first?"

The little princess was the first to raise her hand: "Wo-ya~ Wo-wan~"

No one else tried to take the princess's place, so Xiao Ran walked over to her, led her up the steps, and then to the top, saying, "Sizi, now you just need to sit forward a little, and then you can slide down."

The little princess sat down as Xiao Ran instructed with great interest, then wiggled her little bottom and scooted forward.

Since it was her first time playing, the little princess was a little scared as she was about to slide down, and nervously called out to Xiao Ran, "Little Nangjun~"

Xiao Ran pointed to the mat at the bottom and said, "Sizi, look, there's a mat underneath, you won't fall. And I'll always be right next to Sizi, ready to catch you anytime."

Upon hearing this, the little princess felt much more at ease. She boldly scooted forward a little more and then let go of Xiao Ran's hand.

"Wow~~~"

The little princess's clear voice was full of excitement.

The slide wasn't very long, and the little princess quickly reached the bottom.

"This is so much fun! I want to play more!"

The little princess was no longer afraid. Her face was flushed with excitement, her eyes were wide open like two bright black grapes, and her face was full of excited and happy smiles.

The wind blew past her ears, and the stray hairs at her temples fluttered slightly. Recalling the exhilarating feeling of weightlessness, she found it novel and fun, as if she were really flying.

"Okay, let's play again!" Xiao Ran smiled and stepped forward to tidy up the little princess's messy hair.

This time, the little princess walked up the steps by herself and then slid down without hesitation, and the cheers were even louder than before.

Afterwards, the little ones also went up and tried it out, and they loved it.

For them, the slide was more exciting than their previous toys, but it was safe for them, so the little ones had a great time playing on it.

However, after playing a few times, Xiao Ran called for a stop.

"Alright, let's go back and eat first," Xiao Ran said.

The little princess's stomach immediately growled at the thought of food.

Lunch was the same as usual, and the little princess still enjoyed it.

After lunch, the kids played on the slide, while Xiao Ran discussed with Craftsman Liu about sitting on a few swings.

Compared to slides, swings are much easier to make, even if Xiao Ran makes a swing with a backrest.

The little ones played on the slide and witnessed the birth of the swing.

"It's a swing!" This time, the little ones recognized it.

Xiao Ran smiled and nodded, "Yes, it's a swing."

The swing was also covered with a thick mat, and since it was designed like a deck chair with a backrest and was wide enough for several little ones to lie on, it was not uncomfortable to sit on.

With a slide and a swing set up, the little ones didn't want to leave at all.

After playing on the slide and swinging for a while, Di Renjie ran over to find Xiao Ran.

"Young master, may I bring my friends over to play?" (End of Chapter)