The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The journey was very smooth. Robert stopped at noon and had lunch at a small restaurant he often visited. He also urged Min Xi and Yun Ji to eat together, saying that the mushroom soup here was very good.

Min Xi looked at the dry bread they brought and agreed to let Yun Ji taste what English food tasted like.

Mushrooms are wild delicacies, and no matter how they are cooked, the taste is not bad. The two of them took the bread they bought in the morning and went into the store to order a bowl of mushroom soup. They were hit by a thousand points with just one bite, and they were almost driven away by the pork smell in the soup!

It's not that he had never eaten spicy pork in Fulangji, but that was made by himself. He soaked it in cold water repeatedly and then added spices to remove the fishy smell before it could be barely eatable. However, the original spicy pork made Min Xi and Yun Ji vomit out.

Such good mushrooms were wasted like this. Even if pork was not added, just adding some salt and boiling in water, it would definitely taste much better.

Min Xi and Yun Ji simply gave up the bowl of thick soup, asked each other for some water, and ate the dry bread.

As they watched Robert eat with gusto, they wondered if he had no sense of taste or smell? He could eat so deliciously! Maybe he had never eaten normal pork before, so he thought pork should taste like this.

Robert thought it was a pity that the two of them didn’t drink the soup they ordered. They were indeed rich people!

After dinner, they got back in the car and continued their journey. At around four o'clock, they finally arrived in London.

London at that time was completely different from the London that Min Xi had in mind. Apart from the Thames and the Tower of London, there were no scenery and buildings that Min Xi was familiar with. Even the Thames was not what he was familiar with. After all, there were no fences along the river and no London Bridge on the river. Everything was in its most primitive state.

Some people were washing clothes, some were fetching water, and some were flushing toilets by the river. Domestic garbage was floating on the river, and even animal carcasses could be seen. It was estimated that a lot of domestic sewage was discharged into the river. The only consolation was that the Industrial Revolution had not yet begun, the population of London was not large, and the Thames had not yet been polluted into a stinking ditch.

Robert sent them to Oxford Street, the oldest street in London. Hundreds of years later, Min Si also came to Oxford Street. Although the street name was the same, the architecture was completely different. It was still not the street that Min Si remembered.

Oxford Street was very busy, with carriages and pedestrians flowing continuously. As soon as Min Xi and Yun Ji, two Orientals, got off the carriage, they attracted people's attention. Their dark skin, black hair and black eyes were eye-catching enough in Lisbon, and they were even more eye-catching in the Anglo-Saxon territory. Compared with southern Europeans, Anglo-Saxons have whiter skin, lighter eyes and hair color, mostly blue or green eyes, and light gold or light brown hair. Standing in the crowd, they looked like two drops of ink on a light background.

Not only were the British not used to their appearance, even Yun Ji, who was used to the appearance of the French people, was not used to the appearance of the British. He felt that their eyes looked a little strange, so shallow that they seemed to have no focus.

Min Xi and Yun Ji stood on the street, trying their best to ignore the looks of the people around them: "Seventh Brother, let's find a place to stay first. Then we can find a way to contact the Baron and the others. I hope they have arrived in London safely."

Yun Ji said, "Okay."

The two of them carried their huge bags and looked around. Min Xi asked for directions: "Excuse me, is there a hotel nearby? We want to find a place to stay."

As soon as he opened his mouth, people around him began to whisper about this man who could speak standard English.

A blond boy in his teens said, "Sir, do you want to stay in a hotel? I can take you there."

Min Xi looked at the little golden retriever, who was wearing a brown peaked cap and looked like a little boy in an ancient European movie. "Thank you, please lead the way for me, we will pay you."

Upon hearing this, the little golden retriever grinned happily, his teeth not yet fully grown: "Sir, please follow me." After saying that, he turned around with some pride and walked forward.

Min Xi and Yun Ji followed him, and Min Xi said, "We want a cleaner hotel."

The little golden retriever said happily, "No problem. This hotel I know is very clean. Sir, you look different from us. Where are you from?"

Min Si said, "We came from Lisbon, France, did you know that?"

"Of course I know! The Flames are allies of our country, and our common enemy is Spain." The little golden retriever had a very clear expression, and it seemed that he was a know-it-all who mingled in the market.

Min Xi asked again: "Have you heard that a delegation from Flanagan has arrived in London recently?"

The little golden retriever shook his head: "I'm sorry sir, I haven't heard of this."

Min Xi couldn't help but feel a little worried. Could it be that the French delegation hadn't arrived yet? Or had the people of London not heard of it?

Min Xi couldn't help but ask Yun Ji: "Seventh Brother, if a foreign delegation comes to the capital, will the people of the capital know about it?"

Yun Ji said: "Not necessarily. There are so many people coming and going in the capital every day. Unless it is a particularly large delegation, no one would pay attention to these things."

"The French diplomatic mission to Britain should be a big deal, right?" Min Xi said.

"It's hard to say. The cultural customs and governance systems of Europe are very different from those of our Ming Dynasty. What's wrong?" Yun Ji asked.

Min Xi said: "It seems that we need to find out more about the Flanagan Mission. Perhaps they have already arrived in London."

"Don't worry, let's find a place to settle down first." Yun Ji knew that he was worried about the safety of the Baron brothers, and he was of course concerned too. After all, the Baron was their benefactor. Without him, they would not be able to gain a foothold in Fulangji so quickly.

The little golden retriever took them to a hotel called Brighton on Oxford Street. Judging from the decoration on the door, it should be quite elegant. The little golden retriever said, "Sir, although the price of this hotel is a bit expensive, it is indeed very clean and tidy. Rich gentlemen all stay here."

Min Xi took out a penny and handed it to the little golden retriever: "Thank you very much for leading the way."

The little golden retriever was delighted when he saw the silver coin: "Sir, my name is Jerry, I am very familiar with London, if you want to go somewhere, or find someone, just come to me, I usually hang out on this street."

After hearing this, Min Xi said, "Jerry, can you help me find out if there has been any Flanagan ship arriving in London in the past seven days? If you can find out, I will definitely reward you."

The little golden retriever nodded happily: "I see, sir, I'll go ask right away."

Yun Ji watched the little golden retriever run away and asked, "What did you say to him?"

Min Xi said, "I want him to help find out the whereabouts of the Baron and his men. Let's go and check into a hotel first."

The two entered the hotel and were surrounded by people as expected. It was hard for two Chinese people who looked very different from the locals not to attract attention. Min Xi even thought that if it was inconvenient for him to find the baron, it would be easier to make some noise and let the baron come to him.

When I entered the hotel and asked, I found out that this hotel is indeed not cheap. It costs 1 shilling per night, which is equivalent to 1 reais per night, but three meals are included.

The shop owner took them to see the room, which was spacious and warmly decorated, and was worth the price. After discussing it, the two decided to stay there first and move to another place after the little golden retriever got the news.

Although they earned 200 pounds from the pirates, they seemed to have no shortage of money, but they were in urgent need of money, so they had to save where they could. Especially when they thought that Diego and his men worked hard all day and only earned a few reais, and they only had to pay one reais for a night's stay, it was really extravagant, and a bit of a shame for everyone's hard work.

When Min Xi paid the deposit, he asked the clerk, "Is there a place to cook in the hotel?"

The clerk looked at the strangely dressed guest in surprise. Not only did they look strange, their clothes were strange, but their behavior was also strange: "Sir, our hotel provides three meals a day."

"I know, but I want to cook for myself. I can buy the ingredients myself and just borrow your kitchen." Min Xi said that he really lacked the courage to challenge the dark cuisine of Britain again.

The clerk shrugged: "Of course!"

“Thank you very much!” Min Xi thanked happily. They didn’t have to eat dark food tonight.

When he said he wanted to borrow the kitchen, he naturally just wanted to borrow the stove, after all, he had his own pots.

The two of them followed the old routine and lifted the bedding to replace it with their own. Min Xi took out the cooking utensils and took a look. There was still some flour brought from Fulangji in the bag, but no vegetables or the like. However, the chicken chili sauce made for the Baron was still there.

The baron left in a hurry and did not have time to take the chili sauce in a silver jar in the cabin. It was looted by the pirates and then taken back by Min Xi, but he was reluctant to give it to the pirates.

The two packed their luggage and went downstairs with the pot, flour and seasonings. They had eaten hard bread in the morning and at noon, so they couldn't just deal with this dinner casually.

It is a little early to eat now, but for those who have not eaten well during the day, now is the best time to eat.

The two of them came downstairs with the things, and the clerk's eyes widened when he saw them. He didn't expect that customers would actually bring pots to the store. He wanted to laugh but didn't dare to laugh in front of them, so he had to hold it back and led the two of them to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, a fat cook was cooking. She noticed someone entering the kitchen and said without turning her head, "It's not time to eat yet. Please wait a moment. I'll let you know when it's ready later."

The waiter said, "Judy, these two guests would like to use the kitchen to make dinner."