Xiao Ran went to distribute them. The others felt embarrassed, but the little princess was different.
“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm~” The little princess was quite happy to accept them.
Xiao Ran was not surprised by their reaction. These biscuits really were quite delicious.
He usually kept some in his vehicle. This stuff did not spoil easily; they just had to keep it from getting damp.
Having it with milk for breakfast in the morning was quite nice, too.
The little princess carried the biscuits over to Li Shimin and the others. “Father~ You eat~”
“They’re super delicious~”
“Mm, good!” Li Shimin accepted three pieces. “Thank you, young master!”
He handed some to Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong as well.
“Uncle, there’s no need to be so polite. It’s only something to eat.”
The little princess did not forget Zhang Anan behind them.
“Hmm?” After tasting the biscuits, Li Shimin also revealed a surprised expression.
They were special and delicious—he had never eaten pastries like these before.
Cheng Yaojin and the others reacted similarly. They now understood why the little princess had been so excited. They really were quite good.
Each of them ate only one piece, leaving the rest for the little princess.
Xiao Ran did not look at their reactions. He took the cooking utensils out of the box and placed them on the table they had just prepared.
“Young master, what kind of pastries are these?”
“Well, they don’t really count as pastries! They’re calcium milk biscuits!”
“Calcium milk biscuits. No wonder they have such a strong milky fragrance.”
The little princess nodded. “Yes, yes~”
“I’m glad you like them!” Xiao Ran crouched down and took out the cooking utensils.
Not only the two Princesses, but even Li Shimin and the others, who were fishing, could not help looking over.
These cooking utensils were also novel items they had never seen before.
As he took things out, Xiao Ran pondered what dish to make later.
It would definitely involve fish, but there were too many ways to prepare fish.
The fish here were either carp or grass carp. There were no others.
The little princess stood beside him, eating calcium milk biscuits as she watched.
Xiao Ran took two small folding stools from another box. “Young lady, sit down. Standing all this time must be tiring.”
“Hee-hee~ Thank you, Little Gentleman~” The little princess obediently sat on a folding stool.
Li Lizhi also sat down nearby. “Young master, is there anything I can do?”
Li Lizhi wanted to help.
Xiao Ran had not intended to let Li Lizhi assist. A noble young lady like her surely did not do housework.
She probably would not know how, either.
“Madam, just rest. There’s nothing you need to do.” Xiao Ran rose, picked up a basin, and walked to the bucket.
He took several fish out of it.
Li Shimin and the others could tell that Xiao Ran seemed ready to cook.
They were very shocked. He was actually going to cook here, and he had even brought cooking utensils.
More than anything, they were curious about how Xiao Ran would prepare the food and wanted to know how it would taste.
Since they were fishing, the main ingredient would naturally be fish.
Xiao Ran took out a small knife, crouched by the shore, and began cleaning the fish.
The little princess did not remain seated on the folding stool. Instead, she stood beside Xiao Ran and watched him.
“Little Gentleman is so amazing~”
Li Lizhi also noticed that Xiao Ran’s method of cleaning fish was very practiced.
There was nothing strange about it. He had always liked fishing and eating fish, and after doing it himself so many times, he was naturally skilled.
“Young lady, how old are you this year?”
The little princess thought for a moment. “I’m almost two years old~”
She was not yet two. Children that age were innocent and amusing.
Once they grew a little older, they would begin rebelling. But looking at Li Lizhi, Xiao Ran felt that this little girl would grow up to be an obedient noble young lady, just like her elder sister.
Seeing that the little princess was holding the calcium milk biscuits without eating any more, Xiao Ran asked, “young lady, why aren’t you eating?”
The little princess looked at the biscuits. “I’m saving them for Mother~ and second elder sister~”
“Very good!” Judging from the sisters’ behavior, their family must have raised them very well.
While Xiao Ran cleaned the fish, Li Shimin and the other two caught several more.
After washing them clean, Xiao Ran cut up some scallions and ginger and put them inside, then sprinkled on some cooking wine.
“Little Gentleman, what are you doing~”
“This removes the fishy smell and adds fragrance.”
The fish needed to marinate for a while. Xiao Ran took out the butane stove and a small pot for cooking rice.
When Li Lizhi saw Xiao Ran cooking rice, she was very surprised. She had not expected him to bring rice along.
“Wow~ So amazing~” The little princess was astonished when she saw Xiao Ran light the butane stove.
Li Lizhi was equally astonished. She had not expected this to be a furnace.
It was so small and convenient—something she would never have dared imagine before.
Earlier, Zhang Anan had been watching Li Shimin and the other two fish. Now he was even more interested in how Xiao Ran would cook.
“Little Gentleman, what’s that~” The little princess was like a curious little baby.
Xiao Ran handed the lighter to the little princess. “A lighter!”
“The fire chicken is amazing~” The little princess took it and looked it over.
Li Lizhi and Zhang Anan also realized that Xiao Ran possessed far too many miraculous items.
Xiao Ran had been accustomed to being alone and had thought it was quite nice.
Now he suddenly realized that having a little girl like this by his side would also be quite interesting.
Xiao Ran stood up and looked around. He needed to gather some firewood to roast the grilled fish later.
Roasting fish with a butane stove was impractical.
When the little princess saw Xiao Ran head elsewhere, she hurried after him with doggie. “Little Gentleman, where are you going~”
“I’m going to gather some dry firewood.”
Li Lizhi hurried after them. “Young master, I’ll go with you.”
Zhang Anan hesitated slightly, unsure whether he should follow them or stay behind to guard Li Shimin.
Li Shimin gave Zhang Anan a look, and Zhang Anan hurried after them.
Most of the nearby trees had already been cut down, but gathering some dry firewood was still no problem.
After all, there were plenty of bushes.
When Xiao Ran picked up the dry firewood from the ground, the little princess followed suit.
Neither Li Lizhi nor the little princess had ever done this before, so they found it rather novel.
The biscuits in her hand were just a little inconvenient.
The little princess handed them to Li Lizhi. “Elder sister~”
Li Lizhi accepted them and handed them to Zhang Anan. “Uncle Zhang!”
“Yes, madam!” Zhang Anan accepted the calcium milk biscuits and took them back to the shore to put them away.
“Madam, why have so many of the trees here been cut down?” Xiao Ran could not help asking.
“It should be for burning charcoal. Autumn has arrived, and the cold winter is not far away. The price of charcoal is relatively high now.”
Only after hearing Li Lizhi say this did Xiao Ran understand.
He understood why so many of the nearby trees had been cut down.
This era had no gas or natural gas. Heating, Starting a Fire, and cooking all required firewood.
Ordinary people burned firewood, while wealthy people burned charcoal.
Either way, the trees had to be cut down.
Zhang Anan returned again and also began gathering dry firewood.
The little princess was too young to carry the larger pieces, so she picked up the smaller ones.
Imitating Xiao Ran, she picked them up with her right hand and placed them on her left arm.
“Young lady, you’re getting your clothes dirty.” Xiao Ran reminded the little princess.
“What’s wrong with that~”
Seeing that her younger sister was happy, Li Lizhi did not object. “Young master, it’s fine!”
She had never done anything like this in the imperial palace, so Li Lizhi also found it very interesting and enjoyed herself.
Since their bait was running low, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong stopped fishing and left it all for Li Shimin.
Xiao Ran and the others carried the firewood back to the shore.
After finding some dry grass, Xiao Ran lit the dry firewood. He would use the charcoal to roast the grilled fish later.