The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

When resting at night, Min Xi collapsed on the bed and didn't want to move at all.

Yun Ji felt sorry for him and gave him a massage to relax him. He said, "Now Amanda can cook, why don't we hire another person, let Gail come into the kitchen, and let them cook some simple dishes. You just need to check the quality."

Min Xi closed his eyes and said, "I think it's okay. It's really tiring for us to do everything by ourselves."

"Then I'll go tell the broker tomorrow." Yun Ji said.

"it is good."

The next morning, Yunji took Jasper to buy groceries, while Minxi got up to clean up the pork. Today's main dish is still pork. Braised pork and pot-fried pork are the most popular, and these two dishes are still kept; today we also have to make braised pork, pig's trotters, pig's trotters and pig's head are also braised. Pig's head is the most suitable for braised meat, with a strong gelatinous texture and not easy to be greasy; spareribs are used for braised and salt and pepper; and boiled pork slices are made.

Min Xi estimated that by the end of the day, there would be very little pork left. As for the internal organs, if there were many customers, they would cook them for them. If they didn't want to eat them, they would eat them themselves. Now that the weather was warm, even though it was only 10 or 20 degrees, it was not suitable for making bacon, so they had to eat it all.

After the braised pork was ready, Min Xi specially served out three portions, which were left for Baron Fernando, Lord Melo and Lawyer Delan.

The Baron and the Lord did not come yesterday at noon, and came late in the evening. By then, the braised pork was almost sold out, and there was no extra for them. They asked that some must be reserved for them today, so it had to be reserved in advance today.

Lord Melo came at noon, but Fernando did not. Min Xi asked about it, and Lord Melo said, "I'm not sure. I think he must have been stuck. Why don't you give them all to me and I'll take them for you."

"Thank you very much."

So all three servings of braised pork were taken away by Lord Melo, who helped deliver them to Baron Fernando and Lawyer Delan.

In the evening, Fernando came and immediately went into the kitchen and asked, "Where is my braised pork?"

Min Xi said, "Where are you from? Lord Melo brought your braised pork to you at noon."

Fernando said, "Is that so? Do you have any left? Please prepare another portion for me. I will send it to my grandparents after dinner."

Min Xi said, "Okay, I'll prepare another one for you."

Fernando suddenly sighed and said, "I won't be able to eat the delicious food you cook in a while."

"What's wrong? Are you leaving Lisbon?" Min Xi asked unexpectedly.

Fernando said, "Yes, I will go to England with the delegation and marry my fiancée."

"Why are you the one going on the visit?" Min Xi was a little surprised. Fernando did not serve in Congress and was just a baron. It should not be his turn.

Fernando said, "My eldest brother is the deputy envoy of the mission. He recommended me to His Majesty, saying that I was idle at home and needed some exercise. By the way, it would be a good opportunity for me to marry Miss Alice Harold. His Majesty also thought it was a good idea. I had to be forced to do it! My God, I thought I could hide for three months, but I didn't expect to have to face it in advance."

Min Xi knew that he was worried about his marriage, so he asked, "When are you leaving?"

Fernando said: "I'll be back next month, probably around July or August."

"It took quite a while."

"Yes, can you make me something to eat that I can take away? It would be best if it can be kept for a longer time. Otherwise, I will go crazy if I can't eat your cooking for two or three months." Fernando showed a pitiful expression.

Min Xi spread his hands and said helplessly: "There is nothing now, I can't do anything for you."

Fernando said, "What do you need to do? I'll get it for you."

Min Xi thought about it and said, "It doesn't seem impossible. You should have some spicy peppers there. Pick some and I'll make some hot sauce for you. It should be enough to last for a while."

"Okay!" Fernando didn't care whether he could eat spicy food at this moment, as long as it was made by Min Xi, it would be fine.

Back in the attic at night, Min Xi told Yun Ji about Fernando's trip to England. As soon as he said that, Yun Ji guessed what he was thinking: "Do you want to go to England with the Baron?"

Min Xi nodded happily: "Yes, Brother Qi, you understand me too well! This is a very good opportunity. I can take a ride on the ship to England."

"But the Baron is on official business, so he can't accompany us to find those crop seeds? We don't speak the same language, so how can we communicate with the locals?" Yun Ji frowned worriedly.

Min Xi said, "There is still more than a month left. I can learn some simple English from the Baron, and then learn from the locals when I get there." He didn't want to tell him that his English used to be much more fluent than his Portuguese. Of course, it was difficult to say it now, after all, he had lived in Lisbon for more than a year.

Yun Ji knew that he said he was going, so he must go, so he asked: "Baron, can you agree that we go? What about the store here?"

Min Xi said, "I will go alone. Brother Qi, you stay here to look after the store. You will be back in two or three months at most."

When Yun Ji heard this, he denied it without thinking: "Absolutely not! You are unfamiliar with the place, you don't speak the language, and you are in a foreign country. How can I let you go to England alone? Either we both go, or no one of us goes!"

Min Xi thought, you are not able to use your language advantage here. Seeing that he was so determined, she said, "What about the store here if we all leave?"

"Leave the dim sum shop to Diego, and the restaurant to Amanda and Gail. Let Lord Mello and Lawyer Delan take care of it, and ask them to help deal with any problems." Yun Ji said, "We need to hire two more people for the store. There is still a month or so, so it shouldn't be a problem to train two waiters. Let Jasper be in charge of the cashier."

Min Xi looked at Yun Ji and said, "Seventh Brother, you can rest assured that two stores this big will be handed over to others to manage."

Yun Ji said, "What's the point of making more money if something happens to you? We came here together, so we have to go back together. Wherever you are, I will be there."

Min Xi knew that he was concerned about him. If he let Yun Ji leave alone and left him here waiting for news, he would not be able to rest assured, so he said: "Okay, I will talk to the baron about this tomorrow. If he agrees, we will start to arrange the next things. In addition to the store, there are also the land we farm. Those can't be abandoned. I have to tell Diego."

"It should."

Min Xi added: "In fact, the hardest thing to explain is the diners. I'm afraid they won't approve of the dishes Amanda and Gail cook. The reputation we have worked so hard to build up will be ruined."

"In my opinion, it's not a big deal. We will leave sooner or later, and diners will have to learn to accept meals cooked by other people. This time we can just consider it as an opportunity to adapt in advance. It's also a good training opportunity for Gail and others." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi said, "Okay, starting tomorrow, I'm going to start training them to cook hard dishes."

Yun Ji said, "Starting tomorrow, Jasper will be responsible for grocery shopping. From now on, grocery shopping will be handed over to him and Gail."

Min Xi said, "We have to raise their wages." After the Chinese New Year, almost all employees received a wage increase, with the lowest being 1 reais.

"They all should be increased. Amanda and Gail, who are in charge of cooking, should have their wages increased to 5 reais, Jasper should also have his wages increased to 5 reais, Greta should have his wages increased to 2 reais, and we'll see how the newcomers perform. Diego will be in charge of the dim sum shop, and his wages will be increased to 5 reais, and the two clerks will also have their wages increased a little, Domit's will be 2 reais, and Maltz, who is new this year, will be 1 reais and 500 reais." Yun Ji said.

This salary is definitely not low, 60 reais a year, which is already catching up with the annual income of a senior sailor. The annual income of an ordinary clerk in Lisbon is only about 10 reais at most.

They left Lisbon and completely entrusted the two stores to their employees, paying them higher wages, naturally hoping that they would still work hard without any constraints.

The two of them lay in bed, planning how to leave Lisbon, and found that there were many things that needed to be explained, and every aspect made them feel uneasy.

The next morning, Min Xi and Yun Ji took Jasper to buy groceries and said, "Jasper, you have been buying groceries with us for half a year. Today we plan to test you. You will buy all the groceries today and you will decide what to buy. You will negotiate the price with others."

Jasper looked at the two of them in surprise: "Boss, you want me to buy groceries?"

Min Xi nodded: "Yes, you have been learning from me for such a long time, you should have learned some tricks. As a boss, I don't want to do everything myself. I want to let you be responsible for the task of buying groceries in the future. I wonder if you can satisfy us."

Jasper was a little excited. Buying groceries is a matter of dealing directly with money. The boss asked him to buy groceries. Doesn't that mean the boss trusts him? He quickly said, "Don't worry, boss. I will definitely not let you down!"