The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi carried the tray through the crowd, came to the bar, and found Sanvis who was talking to someone.

The person talking to Sanvis was the tax officer Bailey. Sanvis smiled and said to Bailey, "Mr. Bailey, these two are the Chinese I was talking about. They want to do some small business in the area you manage."

Bailey's attention was now completely attracted by the food box in Min Xi's hand: "What is this?"

Min Xi put the plate in front of Bailey: "Mr. Bailey, this is our Chinese food, please taste it."

Bailey put down the wine glass in his hand, grabbed a vegetable box, smelled it, and then put it in his mouth and took a bite. The crust was crispy, the filling inside was juicy and delicious, with the right amount of saltiness and a little sweetness from onions. It was simply a delicacy. How could there be something so delicious!

Bailey finished the whole box of food and then stopped, sucking his fingers: "What did you just say?"

Sanvis said: "It is this Mr. Min who wants to do a small business in the area you manage and sell some food from his hometown."

Bailey glanced at the plate on the table, then looked at Min Xi: "Are you from China?"

"Yes, sir," Min Si replied.

"Is this something you make in your hometown? What's it called?"

"This is a snack called vegetable box," Min Xi explained.

"Are you going to sell this?" Bailey glanced at the onion box again and couldn't help licking his lips. There was still a sweet taste between his lips and teeth. What was it? He ate too fast just now and couldn't taste it completely.

Min Xi smiled and said, "Please continue. This plate is all yours."

When Bailey heard him say that, he stopped being polite and picked up another one to show off.

Among the drinkers, there was someone who was familiar with Bailey and couldn't help asking, "Mr. Bailey, what are you eating? Is it delicious?"

Bailey replied randomly: "Delicious!"

Min Xi said to Bailey: "We don't necessarily have to sell only this. I will also make other snacks. I plan to try them all and see which one is more popular."

Bailey said, "You can do business on Beacon Street. I can guarantee that your business will not be interfered with. If you go beyond the scope of my management, it is hard to say."

Min Xi asked: "What about the dock?"

"The east side of the pier is under my jurisdiction, but the west side is not."

"How are taxes paid?" Min Xi simply made the issue clear.

Bailey said: "You can pay it daily or monthly, 1 riyal per day and 25 riyal per month."

It’s not expensive. Min Xi said, “I will pay the tax to Mr. Bailey when I officially open the stall. Then I will invite Mr. Bailey to taste our new products.”

The matter was settled just like that.

The next day, Min Xi and Yun Ji got up before dawn. They were going to the market to see what ingredients were available.

As Lisbon is a city that lives by the sea, the most lively place is definitely the seafood market. Early in the morning, Diego volunteered to be their guide and took them to the seafood market.

The largest seafood market is right at the pier. After the fishermen dock, they sell their catches directly at the pier. Vendors come here to purchase goods, and budget-conscious housewives will come early in the morning to buy the cheapest and freshest seafood.

There are also many homeless people who come here to look for food, picking up the small fish and shrimps that fishermen discard. Diego used to be one of them, so he is very familiar with the situation here.

As expected, before the darkness of night had completely faded from the sea, the dock was already bustling. You had to get closer to see what was in the fishermen's baskets.

Although Min Xi has eaten a lot of seafood, he is not very familiar with European seafood. Diego is more familiar with it. He knows the characteristics and prices of these fish and shrimps.

Min Xi bought some fresh cod and a lot of shrimps, and saw an old fisherman with two baskets of crabs in front of him, but no one was interested. The old fisherman was sitting on the ground with his knees hugged, and the bustle around him was in stark contrast to the quietness here, so he went over and asked, "How much is this?"

Little Diego pulled him aside and said, "Sir, we locals don't eat this. The shell is too hard and there is not much meat. It won't taste good no matter how you cook it."

Min Xi saw that the crab was not small and had some meat in its legs, so he went over and asked, "Can I take a look?"

The old fisherman looked up and saw Min Xi's appearance. He was stunned for a moment, then said, "Of course."

Min Xi grabbed a crab, broke off one of its legs, and then snapped it. He saw the translucent crab meat inside and licked it. It was very sweet. He asked, "How much are these?"

The old fisherman said, "I'll sell them if you pay me!" He was particularly unlucky today and caught nothing else but a bunch of these unlucky things, most of which he threw away. He was not giving up so he brought some back to try his luck. Maybe that sucker would buy them.

Min Xi said, "I want all of these. I'll give you 20 Rees. Can you help me deliver them to the Magellan Tavern?"

The old fisherman was overjoyed: "Yes, yes." 20 rees was enough for the whole family to eat for three days.

Diego watched the old fisherman take the money, pick up the basket and leave, as if he was afraid that Min Xi would go back on his word. He was very puzzled and said, "Sir, these are not worth a penny. You paid too much."

Min Xi said, "It doesn't matter. There may be many children waiting for food at his home. Just think of it as helping others."

Diego murmured, "You are so kind-hearted, God will bless you."

"Yes, God will bless kind people. Look at me, I didn't die even when my boat capsized in the sea. Isn't that a reward?" Min Xi said with a smile.

Yun Ji, who was carrying fish and shrimps behind him, was also puzzled: "Why did you buy so many crabs?" Beijing is not by the sea, and he has never eaten crabs.

"I see that the crab has a lot of meat. I've never eaten this kind of crab before. I'll buy some and try it. Maybe it's delicious," said Min Xi.

Min Xi took a look around and got a general understanding of the market conditions of the entire seafood market. He bought whatever he liked, including fish and shrimp, as well as some clams.

When they returned to the tavern, the old fisherman was still at the door because the door was closed. Sanvis had drunk a lot last night and had not yet woken up.

The old fisherman felt uneasy when he saw Min Xi, fearing that he would regret saying no, "I knocked but no one was there."

"It's okay, come in." Min Xi led him to the kitchen and poured the crabs into a large wooden barrel.

Yun Ji asked: "How do you eat so much seafood?"

Min Xi said, "Go boil some water and steam the crabs first."

“So much steamed?”

"If you don't steam them, they won't be saved until tomorrow. Crabs are poisonous when they die, so they have to be eaten while they're still alive. Don't worry, I have a way to deal with them so they won't be wasted," said Min Xi.

Yun Ji didn’t know how to cook, so she had to follow his instructions and do the work.

Little Diego had to clean the house, so Min Xi and Yun Ji had to do the kitchen work by themselves.

Min Xi first mixed the noodles and then went to process the seafood he had bought.

When breakfast was almost ready, Min Xi said to Diego, "Go and call Mr. Sanvis to have breakfast, otherwise the noodles will get mushy and won't taste good."

If Sanvis was called when he was still sleepy, he would definitely get angry, but when he heard Min Xi asked him to eat noodles, he turned over and got up, knowing that there must be something delicious.

They had clam noodles for breakfast. The seasoning was very limited, only salt, but it was so delicious that Sanvis' eyebrows almost fell off: "If you sell this, I believe even the king will come to patronize your business."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Sanvis, are you going to visit the Baron today?"

"Correct."

"Then can you go in the afternoon? I'll make some food for you to bring back for him." Min Xi said.

Sanvis said, “Okay!”

After dinner, Min Xi asked Yun Ji to crack all the cooked crabs and take out all the crab meat. Sanvis and Diego also came to help take out the crab meat. Min Xi peeled the shrimps and made dumplings.

After the dumplings were wrapped and the crab meat was taken out, Min Xi took out pepper and rosemary from the spices in the kitchen, and took out onions, cut them into shreds, and sautéed them in hot oil. He then boiled out the scallion oil, poured in the crab meat and began to stir-fry. He planned to make the crab meat into meat floss, which would be perfect as a side dish.

When the crab floss was fried and the dumplings were steamed, Sanvis ate the crab floss and dumplings and felt that there was no better food in the world. This Chinese was really good at cooking. The king's chef might not be able to catch up with him.

Min Xi packed the meat floss and dumplings and asked him to deliver it to Baron Fernando.

Sanvis carried the food box carefully, his back straight, because he knew that the gift he gave was definitely the most impressive and the Baron would definitely like it very much.