The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi said, "Mr. Hughes, Merry Christmas! We are just about to make breakfast. If you don't mind, you can have breakfast here with me." On a major holiday, it is inevitable to invite guests to dinner.

Old Hughes hesitated for a moment, and Diego said, "Mr. Hughes, the food in our restaurant is delicious. You must have never eaten Chinese food. Come and stay and try it."

Old Hughes said, "Sorry to bother you then."

Seeing that he agreed, Min Xi went to the kitchen to continue making his braised pork.

Diego rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen to knead the dough and make noodles. Since yesterday, all the other employees had a holiday, and only he was busy with his two bosses, but the boy was quite happy, without any complaints, and took the initiative to find work to do.

While busying himself, Min Xi said to Diego, "Knead the dough, cut some pork sauce to make noodle soup, and heat up the dishes from last night."

"Okay!" Diego agreed readily.

When Yun Ji came down from upstairs, Min Xi was serving dishes to the table. Seeing him, he couldn't help but smile: "Seventh brother, Merry Christmas! Come and wash up and have breakfast."

"Merry Christmas, Boss!" Diego greeted happily.

Yun Ji touched the back of his head embarrassedly: "Merry Christmas! You are up so early." It was the first time he stayed in bed, and he felt quite embarrassed.

Min Xi said, "I asked Mr. Hughes to stay for breakfast."

Yun Ji nodded: "Okay. I'll be there right away."

By the time Yun Ji finished washing up and sat down at the table, everyone was already seated and waiting for him.

Yun Ji picked up the chopsticks and said, "Okay, let's eat."

Min Xi tore off the remaining goose leg and placed it in front of Diego: "You didn't eat that one last night, so make up for it today."

Diego laughed a little embarrassedly: "Thank you, boss." He felt quite sorry that he didn't get to eat the goose leg. After all, his biggest wish as a child was to eat a goose leg at Christmas. In the end, the first goose leg was snatched away by a dog.

Min Xi tore off another wing and gave it to Old Xius: "Eat this. Try the roast goose I made."

Old Hughes stammered, "Thank you!"

Min Xi tore off another wing and was about to give it to Yun Ji, but Yun Ji quickly said, "You eat it yourself, I'll eat something else."

Min Xi put down the wings, tore off a piece of meat for Yun Ji and put it on his plate: "You eat the meat."

"it is good."

The cooking method of roast goose is similar to that of roast chicken. It was already tender and crispy. Old Hughes used a fork to separate the meat and bones, making it very easy to eat. He took a bite and found it extremely delicious. It tasted completely different from the goose meat he had eaten before.

Diego bit the goose leg and said proudly, "Mr. Hughes, isn't it delicious?"

Old Hughes nodded: "It's delicious."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Then try something else. Mr. Xius probably hasn't tried our Chinese food yet, right?"

Old Zeus nodded: "Thank you! I haven't eaten it before." He tasted every dish, and to be honest, the taste was really good. He traveled all over the country when he was young and had been to many places, but the food in none of them could compare to the meal today. Just looking at the decoration level of the store, the price of the food here is probably not cheap.

Old Xius looked down at Min Xi and Yun Ji's feet and found that the shoes on their feet were all made by himself. He then had an idea and decided to make them a pair of shoes as a thank you gift for last night and today.

After the meal, Old Hughes politely stood up and said goodbye. Min Xi brought him two boxes of desserts: "Mr. Hughes, if you like the food I cook, you can come over for dinner anytime. I'll treat you, no charge."

Old Xius just smiled, neither agreeing nor refusing, and left with the two boxes of snacks that Min Xi stuffed into his hand.

After Old Hughes left, Min Xi went upstairs and took down a pair of boots: "Diego, this is my Christmas gift to you. I hope you can wear new shoes and walk on a new path, and your life will be smooth in the future."

Yun Ji also had a gift. It was an abacus that he had carved himself. This abacus was smaller and more delicate than the one he used. "You have made great progress this year. You have learned how to write and do arithmetic. This is my Christmas gift to you. I hope you can continue to study."

Diego's eyes were already filled with tears at this moment. He actually received a Christmas gift, and such an expensive gift at that. "Thank you, boss. I like all the gifts you gave me. I must study hard and learn how to use an abacus."

Yun Ji looked at Min Xi again: "Ninth brother, I have a gift for you."

Min Xi was very surprised: "I have a gift too?" They both knew that they were preparing Christmas gifts for Diego. After all, it was Diego's holiday and it was only right to give him a gift. They themselves were not Europeans and did not believe in religion, so Min Xi did not expect that Yun Ji would prepare a gift for him.

Yun Ji took out a wooden cylinder from behind and handed it to Min Xi: "Open it and take a look."

Min Xi took a look and found it was a painting tube. He didn't know when it was made. He opened it and found a rolled-up painting inside. Min Xi took out the painting and unfolded it. It turned out to be a portrait painting on silk. The man in the painting stood against the wind, with the sails and deck in the background. He looked at it carefully and said in surprise, "Is this me?"

Yun Ji nodded.

Diego came over and said, "Wow, the boss drew you so well! You look exactly like him!"

Min Xi leaned in to take a closer look. Did he really look like this? The man in the painting had handsome eyebrows and eyes, and his expression was captured very well. He was clearly a handsome man. "Am I that good-looking?"

Yun Ji looked at him and smiled: "Yes." It was a thousand times more beautiful than in the painting.

Diego nodded vigorously: "Of course, this is the owner."

"What are you looking at?" A familiar voice came from the door.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Baron Fernando pushing the door open. "What are you looking at? Let me see it too."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Merry Christmas, Baron! You came so early. My food is not ready yet."

"It's okay. I'll just wait a moment." Fernando came over and took the painting from Min Xi's hand. He lowered his head to look at the painting, then looked at Min Xi. "It's really like it! Was it painted by Yun? How long did it take to paint it for you?"

Min Xi shook his head: "I don't know. I don't even know when he started drawing it. Brother Qi, how long have you been drawing this?"

Yun Ji said vaguely, "Not long." He painted them all in the dead of night.

Fernando looked at Yunji and said, "Yun, you don't need to look at a model when you paint, you just paint based on your memory?"

Yun Ji nodded: "Yeah."

Fernando exclaimed: "You know Min so well that you can draw him so like without even looking at him. You must have engraved him in your heart."

When Yun Ji heard this, he showed a hint of discomfort on his face: "I have been with him day and night, so naturally I am very familiar with him."

Min Xi smiled and nudged Yun Ji with his elbow: "Needless to say, my seventh brother and I are who we are."

He took the painting back, admired it for a while, and nodded with satisfaction: "So this is what I look like." Then he rolled up the painting and put it into the painting tube.

"But I didn't prepare a Christmas gift for Brother Seven," said Min Xi.

Yun Ji smiled and said, "I don't need it."

The restaurant was closed for the past two days, but Min Xi couldn't rest because he still had a pig to pickle. After sending the painting to the attic, he hurried downstairs to pickle the pork. The two hind legs had been hanging for more than a day, and the blood had been squeezed out. Min Xi began to apply salt to the ham and prepare to pickle it.

Yunji helped cut the meat and prepare the sausages, and Diego rolled up his sleeves to help. Only Fernando had nothing to do, drinking tea and eating nuts while waiting for the meat to cook.

Before the clock struck ten, Min Si finally spoke, saying, "Baron, the food is ready. I'll serve it to you now."

Fernando took the plate and saw Min Si taking out a trembling big elbow from the big iron pot. The elbow was red in color, attractive in color, and exuded an enticing aroma. The meat looked like it would fall off at any time. If it wasn't for His Majesty, he would have reached out to pick up a piece to taste it.

"This looks so delicious. What's it called? What does it taste like?" asked Fernando.

Min Xi said, "The dish is called Dongpo Pork Knuckle, and it tastes like braised meat. Wait for me to make some sauce and pour it over it."

After that, he turned on the fire to fry the spices, added seasonings, then added marinade to thicken the sauce and poured it on the pork elbow.

By this time, the braised pork was ready. Min Xi opened the lid of the pot, and a fragrance stronger than that of Dongpo pork elbow spread out. Fernando came over, looked at the bright red meat, and said, "This smells too good, isn't it? What kind of meat is this?"

Min Xi said, "Braised pork. Serve a bowl for your majesty. You can try the rest. Brother Qi and Diego can also try it."