The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

When the two of them landed, it was already dark. Southampton was only a small port in England, and its scale was completely incomparable to that of Lisbon. England's current maritime strength was far inferior to that of France and Spain. With two large ports, London and Liverpool, Southampton was currently hard to make a presence.

The entire port was dark except for the lighthouse's navigation light which was quite eye-catching. Even if there was light, it was very dim.

The two had just arrived and were completely unfamiliar with the environment, so they had to grope their way forward. Along the way, no one came to check their identities. There were one or two small vendors on the roadside, lighting a bean-sized oil lamp and selling food, but they didn't know what they were selling. They had already eaten dinner on the boat, so there was no need for them to join in the fun.

They had a lot of luggage. Yun Ji carried pots, pans, soy sauce and spices, while Min Xi carried their clothes and bedding. They looked like wanderers returning home from a long journey.

Someone saw them and came up to greet them warmly: "Have you two just disembarked? Do you need a hotel? Our hotel has delicious hot meals, clean and comfortable rooms, and hot water. You will definitely have a wonderful and pleasant night. The price is reasonable."

The two men did not slow down their pace. Before they got off the ship, a pirate on the ship told them that after leaving the port, they should walk straight ahead to the end of the road, then turn left and walk about 100 yards. There was a family inn called Jonathan, which was run by Jonathan's widow, Mrs. Jonathan. Although the inn was not big, it was very comfortable and warm. Mrs. Jonathan also loved cleanliness, so there were very few fleas in the inn.

As there were no fleas, they decided to stay there for the night and try to find a way to get to London after daybreak.

They walked for a quarter of an hour before finally finding the small shop. Looking through the half-open door, they saw a skinny middle-aged woman sitting under a lamp, sewing something.

Min Xi raised his hand and knocked on the door: "Hello! Is this Mrs. Jonathan? Do you have any vacant rooms?"

The woman looked up as if frightened and looked outside the door: "Yes sir, we still have vacant rooms. How many rooms do you need?"

After receiving a positive answer, Min Xi opened the door and walked in with Yun Ji: "We need a room. Is there hot water? We need to take a shower."

The other party was stunned when he saw their faces and didn't speak for a long time until Min Xi reminded him again: "Madam, Madam?"

Mrs. Jonathan came back to her senses: "Where are you from?"

Min Xi was already used to the Europeans' curiosity about their appearance, and said, "We are Chinese, from Lisbon, France. We need a room, either with a large bed or two beds. We also need hot water, as we just got off the ship and want to take a hot bath."

Mrs. Jonathan said, "Of course we have a spare room and hot water, please follow me."

Mrs. Jonathan picked up the oil lamp and led them upstairs. The room was on the second floor. The room was decorated quite warmly, with only a large bed with neatly made bedding.

Mrs. Jonathan said, "You are very lucky. The occupant of this room just checked out this morning. He is a respectable gentleman who only stayed here for one night. I think it is very clean."

Min Xi didn't know what to say. In his opinion, the standard of cleanliness was to change the bedding after each guest. Obviously, the cleanliness of this Mrs. Jonathan was only relative to other bosses.

Min Xi said, "Thank you, ma'am. We brought our own bedding."

Mrs. Jonathan said, "That's great. Please help yourself."

"Please prepare some hot water for us. We are all ready to take a bath."

Mrs. Jonathan said, "I forgot to tell you that hot water is charged extra. If both guests need hot water, they need to pay an extra penny. Also, this room is the best one we have and the most expensive, so it costs 1p."

"No problem, please prepare some more hot water for us," said Min Xi.

If converted into French currency, 6 pence is equivalent to 500 reais, which is enough to rent a house in Lisbon for a month. Comparing the income level of modern Portugal with that of Europe, the fate is so similar.

Of course, there are definitely places in the UK where you can rent a house for a few pennies a month. After all, the gap between the rich and the poor exists in any country and at any time.

Mrs. Jonathan asked, "Do you need food? I can prepare some hot soup for you, but it will cost extra."

"No, we've already eaten, thank you!"

Mrs. Jonathan thought they were reluctant to spend money: "Okay, pay the rent first, and pay a little deposit."

Min Si gave the other party a shilling, and Mrs. Jonathan took it happily and went downstairs to prepare hot water. They opened their luggage and made the bed. They had not taken a bath during this period on the ship, so the bedding was definitely not clean, but compared to the bedding with the body odor of white people, they preferred to sleep in their own dirty bed.

As soon as the bed was made, Mrs. Jonathan came to tell people to go downstairs to take a bath.

The two of them took their valuables downstairs to take a shower. The conditions were barely adequate, not as good as the bathroom they had prepared in the hotel, but they were thankful to be able to take a hot shower. Why would they need a bicycle at this time?

Min Xi and Yun Ji took a shower and washed and hung their clothes to dry. They might set off tomorrow, but they couldn't travel with dirty clothes.

Lying on the bed again, no longer rocking, the two of them actually felt a little uncomfortable.

However, although they were not used to it, they both fell asleep quickly and slept soundly.

Min Xi was awakened by a knock on the door. Someone called out, "Sir, would you like to buy breakfast? Freshly baked, fragrant bread."

Then came Mrs. Jonathan's curse: "Damn Fury, get out of here right now, don't wake up my guests!"

Min Xi just woke up and heard this conversation. He smiled bitterly and Yun Ji's voice rang in his ears: "Were you woken up?"

"I didn't expect to be woken up in this way." Min Xi couldn't sleep either, so he threw off the quilt and got up. This is how it is in Europe, where you can still cover yourself with a quilt at night even in summer.

Yun Ji asked: "Are we going to London today?"

Min Xi said, "Let's go check out the situation first and find out how to get to London. If we can't make it in time, we may have to go tomorrow."

"Ask the landlady." Yun Ji said.

"it is good."

The noise outside was still there. From what I could hear, I could hear the kid selling breakfast shouting his wares with all his might, and the landlady trying to drive him away. The two of them were singing in unison, and it was quite lively.

Min Xi and Yun Ji got up and looked out the window. Behind them were low shanties, messy and littered with garbage. It was obviously a slum. He didn't expect that this would be his first impression of England. Who would have thought that the British Empire once had such a desolate side.

Yunji said, "This is nothing like Lisbon."

"Of course. Lisbon is the capital of France, and Southampton is just slightly better than a fishing village." If it weren't for the development of maritime trade, Southampton would have been just a fishing village.

"I don't know what London is like." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi said: "It's best not to expect too much, so as not to be disappointed." He remembered taking literature classes in school and watching movies like "Oliver Twist". The London in the movie was really not something he could look forward to.

The two opened the door and went out. Mrs. Jonathan, who was chasing the hawker, noticed them and was about to say hello, but Min Xi spoke first: "Good morning, Mrs. Jonathan. I want to ask you something. We want to go to London, but we don't know how to get there."

Mrs. Jonathan came back to her senses and said, "Good morning, gentlemen! Would you like breakfast? I have baked black bread and cooked vegetable soup in my kitchen. It only costs 1 penny per person."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Thank you, we don't need it for now. I want to ask you how to get to London."

Mrs. Jonathan said, "It's not close to London. You have to go to the Central Station on Central Street and ask. There are horse carriages that go to London. The fare is not cheap. It may cost 3 shillings per person. If you can find a ride to London, it will be cheaper to hitchhike."

Min Xi said: "I understand, thank you!"

Min Xi turned around and explained the situation to Yun Ji: "Should we have breakfast first or go ask about the car first?"

Yun Ji said, "Wash up first, then ask for a car, see how to arrange the time, and then decide whether to buy food or cook it yourself."

He knew that Min Xi was very picky about food and would try not to eat out if he could cook by himself. He was the same.

"it is good."

After washing up, the two took their valuables and went out, following the directions given by the landlady, heading towards Central Street.

Fortunately, Southampton was very small, and they found the station on Central Street in less than ten minutes. It was called a station, but it was actually a small car club, where several cars gathered and there was a special person responsible for selling tickets. A two-horse carriage sold a total of six tickets, and the carriage could depart after all the tickets for one car were sold.

Min Xi took a look and saw that the space in the carriage was not big. If six people sat in it, it would obviously be quite crowded. The thought of having to squeeze in such a small space with a group of white people for six or seven hours made him want to die.

Min Xi discussed with Yun Ji: "We have a lot of luggage, how about hiring a car to go to London?"

Yun Ji understood his idea: "I think it's okay."