The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

On the 3rd, Gale came back from his hometown. After hearing about Faria, he said to Yun Ji, "Boss, before Christmas, I saw someone looking for Faria more than once. It was after we closed, when I went back to the snack shop."

Yun Ji quickly asked, "Do you know who is looking for him?"

Gail said: "I asked him once, and he said he was from the same hometown as him and came to go home with him."

"Where does his fellow villager work?" Yun Ji asked.

Gale shook his head: "I'm not sure about that, but if I saw him, I should be able to recognize him. I remember his appearance."

"Then do you know where Faria's house is?" Yun Ji asked again.

Gale continued to shake his head: "I don't know. I heard him say that his father was a chimney worker who specialized in cleaning chimneys. He followed his father to do this job when he was a child."

With Faria's father's occupation, the scope of search became narrower. After all, there were only a few chimney workers in a town, and having a surname made it easier to find.

Yun Ji told Min Xi the news, and then said, "I wonder if the Baron can help find the person. If not, we can go by ourselves."

Min Xi knew that Yun Ji didn't want to owe the Baron a favor, so he said, "Then we'll go look for it on Sunday."

The next day, when Fernando came to dinner, Yun Ji asked him, "Baron, have you helped us find the hired worker named Faria? If you haven't, don't go yet. I found some clues about him and I can go find him myself."

Unexpectedly, Fernando was very efficient: "I asked someone to look for it yesterday, and there should be results soon."

Hearing him say this, Yun Ji knew that the favor was already owed, so he said, “I heard that Faria’s father was a chimney maker.”

"That will be easier to find. I will tell you the first time I get the results in two days," said Fernando.

Sure enough, within two days, Fernando got the news and found Faria's home, but he was not at home. He said that he had earned enough money working in Lisbon, and after Christmas, he followed his brother-in-law to Leiria to do business.

I didn’t receive my December salary or year-end bonus. I only received two months’ salary, but I made enough money. Where did this money come from?

After listening to Fernando's message, Min Xi said, "I guess he must have sold the secret recipe to someone and ran away because he was afraid that we would investigate."

Fernando snorted coldly: "We've already found his house. If he really sold the secret recipe, he's dead."

Yunji said: "If anyone in Lisbon launches desserts like ours, then we'll basically be out of luck."

Fernando said, "I asked my friends to keep an eye out for any store that has the same desserts as yours."

On Sunday, they and the butcher followed Fernando into the palace again to meet His Majesty the King.

Sebastian I was very happy to see them, and he also called the official in charge of agriculture and animal husbandry. This agricultural official had a strong interest in China's agriculture and animal husbandry, and talked with Min Xi and Yun Ji about many topics related to agriculture and animal husbandry.

The most excited person among the group of people was the butcher. In the middle of winter, he was so nervous that sweat was pouring down his forehead. His Majesty not only summoned him, but also spoke to him kindly, asking him to teach the pig castration technique to more people. He got excited and promised Sebastian I solemnly that he would teach the technique to more people.

The king was very happy to hear this and rewarded the butcher with 100 real silver coins. This was a huge sum of money for the butcher, as it would take him three or four years to earn that much money!

When the butcher received the reward, he was so excited that he cried and immediately bowed down to Sebastian I.

When leaving the palace, the butcher took out the money and wanted to share some with Min Xi: "Thanks to you, sir, I not only have the opportunity to meet His Majesty, but also received so many rewards. I want to give half to you."

Min Xi waved his hand and refused: "I don't need it. His Majesty has already rewarded me. You can use this money to repair your pigsty. By the way, recruit a few more apprentices and teach them the technique of castration. By the way, if you want to kill the castrated pigs in your family in the future, please tell me in advance."

"Sure, sure!" The butcher agreed readily, and his heart was finally at ease. He didn't expect that he could get such a huge reward after learning a money-making skill. These two Oriental people were really his lucky stars.

Fernando sent them back to the store, and Min Xi politely invited him to stay for dinner. Unexpectedly, Fernando agreed without hesitation.

When Min Xi heard his answer, he couldn't help but be stunned. This was really a case of Chinese politeness meeting Western directness, so he had to cook the meal whether he wanted to or not.

The shop was closed today, and the vegetables bought this morning were not much, just enough for himself. Min Xi went into the kitchen to see what vegetables were left and what he could make.

He found that most of the vegetables he bought in the morning were still there, and the group of young men probably ate something at the snack shop at noon. Min Xi cooked some home-cooked dishes and baked some pancakes as the staple food.

Fernando followed them, grabbing the pancake with one hand and picking up the vegetables with the other, eating very freely. In the past, he could not imagine that he would eat with his hands one day, which was too unnoble.

Fernando couldn't help but be curious: "Does your Chinese emperor also eat with his hands?"

Min Xi laughed when he heard this: "It depends on what you eat. If you eat steamed buns and cakes, you can eat them by grabbing them or using chopsticks. If you eat noodles and rice, you must use chopsticks. Home-cooked dishes like this are best served with rice."

Fernando said, "I've heard that the staple food of the locals in Indochina is rice. Is rice delicious?"

Min Xi smiled and said, "I am from the south and grew up eating rice, so I naturally think rice tastes better than noodles. But my seventh brother is from the north and he grew up eating noodles, so he definitely thinks noodles taste better than rice. I think the Baron should also think that bread tastes better than rice."

Yun Ji shook his head: "My mother is from the south. I actually eat more rice, and I like rice better than pasta."

Fernando stroked his chin and said, "Next time, let them bring back some rice from there."

Min Xi said, "We might be able to bring some rice back to pound it. If we only bring rice, it's hard to guarantee that it won't get moldy. The sea is too humid, and it should have gotten moldy by the time the ship reaches Lisbon."

Fernando said with some regret: "It seems that it is not easy to eat rice."

Min Xi nodded: "Yes. There are also some rules for husking rice. If the husks are not pounded cleanly, the taste of brown rice will be far less delicate than wheat bread. It is a bit similar to black bread."

Fernando shrugged. "Forget it. Rice may not suit my taste. I'd rather eat bread."

Min Xi couldn't help laughing.

Fernando left after dinner, and Min Xi and Yun Ji planned to go to the dim sum shop to exchange for the group of guys to come back for dinner. The dim sum shop also closed for two days every month, but the closing time was not on Sundays, which was staggered with the restaurant.

The restaurant was closed today, so Gail and Jasper took the initiative to help out at the dim sum shop. This counted as overtime, and they would receive some extra bonuses depending on the situation. The two young men were very motivated, because helping out at the dim sum shop not only earned them bonuses, but more importantly, they also had the opportunity to learn how to make dim sum from Diego.

However, the two girls did not come to help. Amanda has four children and she has to use these two days off every week to do the housework. Greta lives nearby and she has to go home on Sundays to help with the housework.

The two of them arrived at the store. There were not many customers at this time. Only Domit, who was collecting the bills, was watching in the front, and the others were in the kitchen. Diego was baking cookies at this time, and Gail and Jasper were helping and learning at the same time.

Min Xi entered the kitchen and said, "Boys, stop busying yourself and go eat. We will take care of this."

The three men saw him and surrounded him, "Master, have you seen His Majesty again?"

"Yes. His Majesty has rewarded you with some food. It is placed on the table. You can take it yourselves." Min Xi waved his hand.

The young men were all very happy. They put down what they were doing and prepared to eat. Diego reported the situation in the oven to Min Xi and asked him to pay attention to the temperature.

Gail walked out of the kitchen and suddenly remembered something. He looked up and saw Yun Ji was counting the bill for the guests. He turned back to the kitchen and said to Min Xi, "Boss, I want to tell you something."

Min Xi asked, "What's the matter?"

Gale said, "I saw Faria's fellow villagers today."

Min Xi was surprised: "Where is it?"

Gail said: "I saw it during church service. I followed him quietly and saw him go into a small hotel. The hotel was occupied by long-term guests, who were all working nearby. He must be working nearby."

Min Xi said, "Then go over there tomorrow morning and wait to see which store he works in."

Gail nodded: "Okay."

Min Xi remembered something and reminded, "Remember, don't wear our uniforms."

"understood."