The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

After Sanvis left, Min Xi took Yun Ji to discuss what to sell and calculate the cost, as well as what price to sell at to make a profit.

Rye flour is the staple food of Europeans today. In order to ensure basic people's livelihood, the ruling class has set a cap on the price. The current market price is 2 rees per pound, while the price of wheat flour is more than twice that of rye flour, at 5 rees per pound.

One pound of wheat flour can make about 70 dumplings. Add six ounces of water and you'll need about one and a half pounds of stuffing. If it's shrimp dumplings, you'll need one pound of shrimp, plus carrots and onions, spices, etc. The total cost of the stuffing is about six riels. Three pounds of dumplings can be made, and one serving has a dozen dumplings, which can be divided into about five portions. Excluding the cost of fuel, it's about 6 riels.

Min Xi looked at Yun Ji and said with a smile, "I sell them for 10 Rui Si each. They won't say I'm a bad person, right?"

Yun Ji said: "We only had a portion of vegetable soup, and they charged us 100 riels. Ours is made of real ingredients and is so delicious. I don't think 100 riels is expensive!"

Min Xi looked at Yun Ji and laughed, "As expected, it has to be you! But we are doing business with the common people, not the kind of business that rips off customers. If we open a restaurant, it is understandable that the price is higher because the level has improved. If we set up a stall, the cost investment is not high and there is no rent. I think 10 riyals is about right, 8 riyals is also fine."

Yun Ji shook his head. "Wheat flour is not something that ordinary people can afford here. Since you chose wheat flour as the raw material, it is not something that ordinary people can eat often. It doesn't matter if it is a little expensive. It will make them want to eat it again. The customers we target are those with higher incomes, such as the nobles and businessmen you mentioned."

Min Xi nodded: "You have a point. But I am worried that it will not sell well if the stall is so expensive. But we can try it out first, the cost is not high anyway."

Yun Ji said, "We still have some money. Let's borrow some from Sanvis and open a restaurant directly."

Min Xi thought of another thing: "What if we can go back in two months? Wouldn't that mean we won't get our money back?"

"If I could go back so soon, I wouldn't care about these trivial things." Yun Ji said.

"I care, but I'm broke."

"You saved me, so why do you have to worry about the rest of your life?" Yun Ji said with a smile.

Min Xi said: "I know that my seventh brother can definitely support me for the rest of my life, but I prefer to be self-reliant. We really can't be without money. A poor family makes a rich road. Even if we return to Southeast Asia, we still have to find a way to return to Ming. Money is needed everywhere."

"What you said makes sense." Yun Ji nodded in agreement.

"So let's set up the stall first and see the response. Let's go buy a stove and two pots, one for boiling dumplings and one for frying dumplings. I'm sure they'll be craving for it!" Min Xi raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

The two of them went out to buy kitchen utensils and tableware. Actually, Min Xi wanted to take it away, so that he could just pack something and take it away. As he walked and looked, he fell in love with the oak leaves on the side of the road. The oak leaves were large, and although the gaps between them were relatively large, if two of them were stacked together, wouldn't they be able to hold up the dumplings perfectly?

Yun Ji heard his plan and smiled, "That sounds good. Dumplings are more suitable for sharing than other foods. Buy one and take it home, and the whole family can share it. Maybe more people will buy it."

Min Xi raised his eyebrows complacently: "Isn't my idea great? It's simply genius!"

Yun Ji smiled at him and nodded in agreement.

When purchasing, Min Xi found that the stove he wanted was not available. This was a difficult problem. Without a stove, he could not sell hot food, as the difference between cold and hot food would be huge.

Yun Ji saw that he was frowning and asked, "What's wrong?"

Min Xi said, "I'm thinking about how to solve the fire problem. I can't just build a stove on the street! No, I have to order a stove."

"What is a stove?" Yun Ji asked.

Min Xi said: "It is a stove, a movable stove, which can burn wood or coal."

"What is coal?" Yun Ji asked again.

Min Xi was stunned, thought for a while, and said, "It's coal. Let's go, send the things back first, and then find a blacksmith shop." The productivity was low in that era, and it was unknown how long it would take to build the furnace he wanted.

They sent the things back. Little Diego had already finished the cleaning. When he saw them coming back, he excitedly came over and said, "Sir, you're back!"

These two days were the happiest days of his life. Mr. Sanvis beat and scolded him less, and he ate the most delicious vegetable boxes, noodles, dumplings and crab floss in his life. He dared to guarantee that no child in the entire Lighthouse Street had ever eaten food more delicious than these.

Min Xi said in a friendly manner: "Little Diego, are you done with your work? Do you know where the blacksmith shop is?"

"I know, I'll take you there!" Diego volunteered to lead them.

They put their things away and followed Diego to a blacksmith shop. The blacksmith said that if they made a furnace according to Min Xi's requirements, it would take at least seven days. Min Xi thought seven days was too long. It happened that the blacksmith's son, who was learning to forge iron, broke a deep pot for boiling water. Min Xi asked them to process the pot on the side and make two holes, one for adding firewood and the other for ventilation. In this way, a simple furnace was made.

He asked the blacksmith to make another stove with two burners according to his requirements. After demonstrating it to the blacksmith for a long time, the blacksmith finally agreed to give it a try.

Coming out of the blacksmith shop, Min Xi said excitedly: "I can set up a stall tomorrow." He was full of anticipation for making money by setting up a stall.

When we got home, Sanvis had already returned. He excitedly pulled Min Xi and said, "Min, the Baron particularly likes your dumplings and crab floss. He hopes you can go to his house tomorrow to cook for him."

Min Xi said, "I can't go tomorrow. We have to set up the stall tomorrow. Let's wait two days."

"Are you going to set up a stall tomorrow?" Sanvis was a little surprised at Min Xi's execution. He really did what he said.

"Yes, let's try it tomorrow and see how the business goes." Min Xi said.

"What are you going to sell?"

"dumpling."

"Great, the dumplings are delicious. How much do you want?" asked Sanvis.

Min Xi said, "15 pieces per serving, 10 riels per serving, do you think it's expensive?"

Sanvis' eyes widened. "Expensive? No, I think it's too cheap! In my pub, a glass of the lowest quality beer costs 3 reis, and a piece of black bread costs 1 reis. Such delicious dumplings, made of wheat flour, are only 10 reis. How can they be expensive? If you don't believe me, bring them to my pub and sell them at 1 reis. People will definitely rush to buy them."

Min Xi felt relieved after hearing what he said. In this case, he decided to have one less, 14 at a time. A little bit adds up to a lot, and it could save some cost.

That night, Min Xi and Yun Ji got busy kneading dough and rolling out dumpling wrappers.

Yunji had never done any of these before, but he was smart and could learn them quickly. He was best suited for kneading dough as he had plenty of strength, but he was not as good at rolling out the dumpling wrappers, but he learned it quickly, albeit a little slowly.

While Min Xi was skillfully rolling out the dumpling wrappers, he was watching Yun Ji's somewhat clumsy movements. Who would have thought that he, the young master of a business empire, would one day make dumplings and sell them.

Very good, with a good attitude, able to bend and stretch, a real man.