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Xiao Ran carefully examined the tea leaves in his hand, judging their dryness by touch.

When the tea leaves made a slight rustling sound in his hands, turned a dark green color, and were tightly rolled, he knew they were ready.

"It's ready." Xiao Ran took out the stir-fried tea leaves and spread them on a clean bamboo tray to cool.

The roasted tea leaves are still warm, making their aroma even more intense.

The little princess sniffed, and Li Lizhi took a deep breath and said, "It smells so good."

The smell is indeed very pleasant; even Xiao Ran himself finds it delicious.

He found a porcelain jar, put the tea leaves inside, and then Xiao Ran began to stir-fry the second batch of tea.

This time, Xiao Ran was even more serious than before.

Li Lizhi leaned closer and asked, "Young master, are you tired? Or should I do it?"

Although Li Lizhi's learning was not very thorough, since she mainly focused on understanding the procedures, she still knew a little bit about it.

Xiao Ran shook his head, "It's okay, I'm not tired, I'll be fine in a bit."

When it was time to knead the tea leaves, the little princess and her friends came to help again.

Finally, all the tea leaves were roasted, and Xiao Ran wiped the sweat from his forehead.

I wasn't actually that tired; it was mainly because of the heat.

Li Lizhi handed Xiao Ran a handkerchief and then gave him a cup of tea.

"This tea was just brewed with the tea you roasted, and I think it tastes better than any of the teas I've had before."

Xiao Ran took it and drank it down in one gulp; he was really thirsty.

After finishing his drink, Xiao Ran handed over the cup, saying, "Another cup, please."

Li Lizhi found it amusing, but didn't say anything, and went back to pour him another cup.

Xiao Ran wiped the sweat from his face, fanned himself, and sat down in the pavilion in the courtyard.

Li Lizhi handed the tea to Xiao Ran. This time, Xiao Ran didn't drink it directly. Instead, he smelled it first and then took a sip.

"It's really good." Xiao Ran was also surprised that he hadn't made any mistakes this time, and the tea he produced was excellent.

It seems his skills have indeed improved; one can only say he has a real talent for it.

When the little princess saw Xiao Ran drinking tea, she ran over as well.

"Little Nang-kun~ I want a duck too~"

Seeing that Xiao Ran and Li Lizhi were drinking with great relish, the little princess thought it was something delicious.

Xiao Ran held the teacup to the little princess's lips.

"Drink."

The little princess took a bite and immediately stuck out her tongue.

"It doesn't taste good~ It's so bitter~"

Xiao Ran laughed, "That's right, this is tea. Don't you not like drinking it?"

The little princess wrinkled her little face, looking disgusted.

Actually, good tea leaves, when brewed, have almost no bitter taste, but rather a refreshing aroma, and even a sweet aftertaste.

But since it has a sweet aftertaste, for the little princess, it was just water with a slightly bitter taste.

Seeing the little princess's disgusted expression, Xiao Ran deliberately said, "This is made with the tea leaves you picked today, you know? You really don't want to drink it?"

The little princess was a bit conflicted. This tea really didn't taste good to her, but thinking about how hard she had worked to pick tea leaves all day, she wanted to drink it again.

In the end, it was Li Lizhi who stopped them.

She gave Xiao Ran a reproachful look, then said to the little princess, "Sizi doesn't like it, so we won't drink it. We'll have fruit tea later, okay?"

Fruit tea is still tea, but the little princess likes it!
It tasted like fruit, sweet and sour, and immediately the little princess lost all interest in drinking tea.

"Good~"

The little princess went to play on the slide with her third sister and the others. Xiao Ran and Li Lizhi sat in the pavilion drinking tea. After tasting the tea, Princess Yuzhang and Zhang Erya went back to their rooms to chat.

As Xiao Ran was drinking tea, Li Li questioned him, "Last year's tea, I said I'd let Aweng and the others try it, but you refused, saying it wasn't good. So this time, you must let Aweng try it?"

This time, Xiao Ran agreed.

"This tea is very well made; everyone should try it."

Xiao Ran was quite proud of himself for being able to produce such tea.

Although the tea leaves didn't burn after the last time they were stir-fried, they weren't as good as this time. Xiao Ran even thought they were better than the tea leaves he had brought before.

However, Xiao Ran gave the tea a second time, which was the tea picked by Li Lizhi and Xiao Ran. It wasn't just for Li Yuan and several great scholars, or Sun Simiao; Xiao Ran also specially asked Li Wu to send a jar of tea to Li Shimin.

Just then, Li Shimin was talking to Qin Qiong. When he heard that the tea was roasted by Xiao Ran himself, Li Shimin immediately had it brewed and drank it with Qin Qiong.

After taking a sip of tea, Qin Qiong said, "This young man is truly remarkable; there's nothing he can't do."

Now they don't add as many things to their tea as before; they also drink plain tea.

Everyone has a tongue, so they can tell whether it tastes good or not.

Li Shimin was quite satisfied as he drank his tea.

Xiao Ran sent tea to Li Shimin so that Li Shimin could taste it, and also to show off his skills. However, he did not expect that his show-off would directly attract Li Shimin's attention.

"Uncle, what brings you here?" Early in the morning, Xiao Ran had just finished breakfast and was about to go to the glass workshop when he saw Li Shimin standing at the door.

Li Shimin didn't stand on ceremony and walked straight past Xiao Ran, saying as he went, "What, can't I come?"

Xiao Ran turned around and followed behind.

"Of course, why not?"

Qin Qiong also accompanied Li Shimin this time.

"Uncle Qin," Xiao Ran greeted Qin Qiong.

Qin Qiong responded in kind.

"Xiao Langjun."

Li Shimin walked in front, while Xiao Ran and Qin Qiong walked behind.

Li Lizhi looked up and saw Li Shimin.

"Grandpa, what brings you here?"

Li Shimin laughed, "You two say the same thing no matter what."

Li Lizhi was a little confused, but then she saw Li Shimin glance at Xiao Ran behind him. What did Li Lizhi not understand? She also understood the teasing in Li Shimin's words, and immediately blushed.

Xiao Ran didn't hear their conversation, nor did he know what had happened.

Li Shimin sat down in a chair. Just as he sat down, the little princess, who was having dinner, came in and saw Li Shimin.

"Grandpa~"

The little princess ran excitedly toward Li Shimin.

Li Shimin instantly beamed with joy and lifted the little princess onto his lap.

"Hmm, not bad, you haven't lost weight!" Li Shimin said.

Xiao Ran said with a smile, "That day we were saying that Si Zi was a solid meatball."

Li Shimin rubbed his chin against the little princess's face, "That means our Sizi is good-looking and healthy! Isn't that right, Sizi?"

The little princess giggled as Li Shimin amused her. After playing with the little princess for a while, Li Shimin suggested that he go see Empress Zhangsun.

Xiao Ran said, "Madam is a heavy sleeper and is still sleeping."

Hearing Xiao Ran say this, Li Shimin decided not to bother Empress Zhangsun.

"Okay, let her get some rest."

Then, Li Shimin asked where Sun Simiao was.

Xiao Ran asked, "Uncle, are you feeling unwell?"

Li Shimin shook his head. "I'm not feeling unwell, but I'm a little worried about Guanyinbi."

As he spoke, Li Shimin sighed.

Although Xiao Ran kept saying that Empress Zhangsun was a good person, Li Shimin was still worried.

Xiao Ran understood Li Shimin's concerns and said, "Uncle, just ask me. I know everything. Besides, the old man took Madam's pulse a while ago and said she was in great shape. In fact, Madam hasn't had a relapse in a long time."

Normally, spring and winter are the times when Empress Zhangsun is most prone to falling ill.

Empress Zhangsun also experienced some discomfort this winter, but since the beginning of spring, she has been getting better and better.

Hearing that Empress Zhangsun had not had a relapse for a long time, Li Shimin was relieved. As for the other half, he would only be able to relax when he saw Empress Zhangsun.

Li Lizhi also said, "My mother is eating much more now than before."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's face instantly showed a look of relief.

“Your mother is now eating for two, so naturally she needs more food.”

Although he said that, Li Shimin's expression clearly showed that he was very happy.

If a person can eat, it means there's nothing wrong with their body.

Empress Zhangsun used to be in poor health and ate very little, but now she eats more, which shows that her health has improved.

Li Shimin then asked, "Is there anything she would like to eat?"

Li Lizhi shook her head, "My mother didn't say what she wanted to eat."

It's normal for pregnant women to crave food, and Empress Zhangsun was no exception; she could eat whatever she wanted whenever she wanted.

After all, Xiao Ran's things included everything Empress Zhangsun knew, so if Empress Zhangsun wanted to eat, she could have it in less than an hour.

In this way, Empress Zhangsun would naturally not have to say what she wanted to eat; she could simply tell Hongxiu directly.

At this moment, Xiao Ran also remembered Hongxiu.

"Uncle, should I go and call Hongxiu over?"

Hongxiu had always been by Empress Zhangsun's side, so naturally she knew the most about Empress Zhangsun.

A short while later, Hongxiu arrived. She answered all of Li Shimin's questions, even mentioning that Empress Zhangsun needed to get up at night.

Having learned enough about Empress Zhangsun's recent situation, Li Shimin was in the mood to talk about other things.

"I'm here mainly for cement," Li Shimin said.

Xiao Ran understood, and he said, "Li Shimin can't possibly come all this way just for a little tea."

"That's perfect, we can go take a look at the cement steps now."

Li Shimin nodded, and the group of people walked towards the cement steps.

Although the cement steps are novel, they are still just steps. So a few days ago, the villagers were very interested and would come over to walk on them whenever they had nothing to do. But now that the novelty has worn off, they won't come over unless they want to go up the mountain.

So when Xiao Ran and his group arrived, they only encountered a few children who were looking for fruit on the mountain, and two women who were gathering firewood.

Looking at the steps in front of him, Xiao Ran made a "please" gesture.

"Uncle, shall we go upstairs for a walk?"

Li Shimin nodded and stepped forward.

After walking back and forth once, Li Shimin nodded. "It does look quite good. Is there any extra cement?"

Just by looking at it, one cannot tell the hardness of the cement, so Li Shimin wanted to take the cement back to conduct experiments.

Xiao Ran had previously said that this cement was difficult to break even with homemade explosives. Li Shimin had already witnessed the power of homemade explosives. At that time, he had also thought about what would happen if the formula for homemade explosives was accidentally leaked, or if the black powder fell into the hands of the enemy.

If the cement is indeed as strong as Xiao Ran said, Li Shimin's worries will be completely dispelled.

Xiao Ran said, "I went out just now because I wanted to go to the glass workshop to check on the cement. Why don't we go together?"

Li Shimin nodded. "Okay."

So the group changed their route and headed towards the cement workshop.

Zhang Dalang is now mainly in charge of glass production, and Cheng Chumo and the others are also involved.

However, Li Ke had an extra job: cement work.

So now, Zhang Dalang and Li Ke are the main people in charge, with Cheng Chumo and Qin Huaidao on both sides.

However, there weren't many raw materials last time, and now there aren't any left, which is why Xiao Ran went to the Glass Defense team.

On the way, Xiao Ran said to Li Shimin, "They said yesterday that they were out of raw materials, so I was planning to go and see how much cement they had produced today."

A group of people arrived at the workshop. Qin Qiong looked around the entire glass workshop and the glass objects on it. Each one was crystal clear and very beautiful.

Xiao Ran said, "Uncle Qin, if there's anything you like, just say so and take it."

Qin Qiong was too embarrassed to accept it and quickly waved his hand, "It's nothing, I'm just looking."

Li Shimin said from the side, "Shubao, don't be shy. This kid has plenty of good stuff. If he wants it, he can have it anytime. There's no need to be polite with him."

"Grandpa?" Qin Huaidao came out when he heard the voice and saw Qin Qiong.

Then he saw Li Shimin, "Your Majesty."

Li Shimin nodded to Qin Huaidao, while Qin Qiong looked him up and down and asked, "Have you gained weight?"

Qin Huaidao looked down at himself.

"Am I fat?"

They were always together, and Xiao Ran hadn't noticed whether Qin Huaidao had gained weight or not. However, Li Shimin said, "He seems to have gained some weight since the last time I saw him. But it's good that he's gained weight. Xiao Ran has all sorts of things here, so it's normal for him to gain weight."

Qin Huaidao smiled somewhat embarrassedly, then explained on behalf of the few people who hadn't come, "Cheng Chumo and the others are checking the cement in the warehouse, worried that it might get damp if it's not stored properly."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Then take us to see the storeroom."

Inside the cement warehouse, Cheng Chumo, Li Ke, and Zhang Dalang were checking the condition of each bag of cement.

This so-called warehouse was actually just an empty room temporarily used to store cement.

A series of footsteps approached, and it sounded like there were quite a few people. The group turned around and saw Li Shimin and his entourage.

"His Majesty!"

Li Shimin nodded and said, "We just came to take a look at the cement. How is it? Is it damp?"

Li Ke was brought forward to answer the question.

"No, everything seems fine so far."

Xiao Ran also went over to take a look, and indeed it wasn't damp.

The cement wasn't placed directly on the ground; instead, a wooden frame was constructed, and the cement was placed on top of the wooden frame to effectively prevent it from getting damp.

It was because it rained the day before yesterday that they came here specifically to check on things.

"This cement looks fine, Uncle. Are you taking it with you today?" Xiao Ran asked. (End of Chapter)