The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi took a deep breath and said, "If I don't convert it, I won't spend much!"

Yun Ji, who was carrying flour, laughed when he heard this. When he was buying vegetables just now, he had been converting the numbers all the time and he almost couldn't breathe.

Coming out of the vegetable market, Min Xi frowned and said, "I don't think this will work. We have to earn pounds and spend pounds."

Yun Ji asked with a smile: "How do you plan to earn money?"

Min Xi raised the dish in his hand and said, "Let's try the British today!"

Back at the hotel, they washed their hands and cooked.

For breakfast, I made steamed dumplings with beef filling. The skin of steamed dumplings is thin, so you don’t need to leaven the dough, but you have to steam it and eat it right away. If it gets cold, it will become hard and the taste will be greatly reduced.

Yun Ji kneaded the dough, Min Xi chopped the meat and mixed it with the stuffing, put chopped green onions in the stuffing, added soy sauce and stirred, and then added a little bit of chili powder to enhance the flavor. The taste was definitely rich, but I don’t know if Hopson can accept the spicy taste.

While they were busy in the kitchen, Judy hadn't come yet. When she arrived, she saw that they were already using her kitchen, and she immediately got angry: "Gentlemen, do you have to cook for yourselves? This is so unbecoming of your status!"

Min Xi smiled politely and said, "Madam, I am very sorry to have used your kitchen again. I will treat you to some delicious Chinese food later."

Judy had to hold back her anger and said, "Well, gentlemen, please hurry up. I will also prepare breakfast for the guests soon."

"Okay, we'll be there soon."

After the xiaolongbao is wrapped, put it in the steamer and start steaming. That’s basically it, just wait for the buns to be cooked.

The remaining ingredients were placed in the kitchen. The chicken had not been killed yet, so it was placed in a chicken coop in the backyard of the hotel and would be killed when it was time to cook it. After all, there was no refrigerator, and only by killing the chicken on the spot could the meat be guaranteed to be fresh.

Judy saw that the two guests were very skilled in doing these things and knew that they were used to doing them, so she was very curious about what the two guests were doing.

When Hopson came downstairs, Min Xi and Yun Ji were already eating hot beef buns in the restaurant.

Hopson saw them and quickened his pace and approached them: "Good morning, gentlemen! What are you eating?"

Min Xi replied: "Xiaolongbao."

As he got closer, Hopson smelled a fragrance he had never smelled before. His mouth began to secrete saliva crazily, and his stomach began to growl: "Can I have a taste too?"

"Of course, I promised you yesterday that I would bring you a portion when I cooked." Min Xi stood up and went to the kitchen to bring back a basket of hot beef dumplings with 6 steamed dumplings in it. "This taste is a little spicy. I wonder if Mr. Hopson can adapt to it?"

"Let me try it first." Hopson couldn't wait to pick up the dumplings with a fork. As soon as the fork was inserted, the juice inside flowed out. He was afraid of wasting it, so he quickly opened his mouth to catch it.

Min Xi hurriedly reminded: "Be careful, it's hot!"

Fortunately, the juice that flowed out had cooled down after coming into contact with the cool air outside, so Hopson was not burned. He stopped and sipped the soup: "It's delicious!"

After a while, he thought it had cooled down, so he carefully took a small bite. The delicious taste of the beef instantly filled his mouth, and he felt that he had never tasted such delicious food in his life.

Min Xi asked: "How do you feel?"

Hopson kept his mouth full and raised his left thumb. After a long while, when he finished a bun, he nodded vigorously: "I have never eaten such delicious food. You are really a genius!"

Min Xi smiled: "Thank you for your compliment."

Hopson ate the second bun, and this time he ate it very quickly, because the steamed bun had cooled down and was at the right temperature, so he ate most of it in one bite, and it was so satisfying to have a full mouthful. He followed the same pattern and ate four of them, and soon there was only one left, so he picked it up with a fork and prepared to taste the last one carefully.

At this time, another person came into the restaurant. He was an old gentleman with gray hair. He was wearing a well-fitting suit, leaning on a crutch with one hand and holding his top hat with the other. He stood straight and did not look old at all. When he saw Min Xi and Yun Ji after coming in, he was stunned for a moment and looked at them twice before turning his gaze to Hopson.

When Hopson saw him, he quickly put down the fork in his hand, stood up and greeted him warmly: "Good morning, Your Excellency the Viscount!"

The old man, leaning on his crutches, walked over to the table next to Hopson and sat down. "Morning. What do you want to eat?"

Hopson looked at the only remaining steamed bun, which he had stabbed with a fork. Naturally, he couldn't give it to the other party, so he said, "These two Chinese gentlemen made breakfast. I am very interested in their food, so I asked them to make some for me."

The old man raised his eyebrows and glanced at Min Xi and Yun Ji.

Hopson quickly stood up and introduced them: "Two Chinese gentlemen, this is Lord Viscount Herbert, he is also a frequent customer of the store. Lord Viscount, these two are the Chinese gentlemen I told you about yesterday."

Min Xi said something to Yun Ji, and the two stood up to greet Viscount Herbert: "It's an honor to meet you, Your Excellency! My name is Min, and this is my brother Yun, and we are from China."

Viscount Herbert, who was sitting, just nodded slightly: "Nice to meet you!"

Herbert obviously had the arrogance of an aristocrat, which was not unexpected by Min Xi. The arrogance of British aristocrats was engraved in their bones. After greeting Yun Ji, Min Xi sat back down.

Hopson was a member of the emerging bourgeoisie. He felt inferior to the nobles. He did not rush to eat the last bun, but asked, "Mr. Min, the buns you made are so delicious. Do you have any more?"

Min Xi said, "There are some that are still being steamed. They are not cooked yet. You have to wait a while."

When Hopson heard this, he quickly said, "I want two more."

Min Xi thought about it and finally said, "Mr. Hopson, I have to make it clear that a serving of dumplings is 5 pence." He hadn't mentioned the price before, and if he didn't mention the price now, it would be very rude if he refused to pay if he ordered too much later.

Hopson readily said, "No problem!" It was obvious that he didn't think it was too expensive.

Viscount Herbert on the side frowned and looked at Min Xi. As far as he knew, they were also guests of the hotel. They actually started business here, and the prices were so high. The hotel really accepted all kinds of guests now.

After Min Xi and Yun Ji finished their breakfast, they cleaned up their dishes and returned to the kitchen to clean up for a while. Then they brought two servings of dumplings to Hopson: "This was originally our lunch. Since Mr. Hopson likes it, let's give it to him."

Hopson was quite forthright and took out 1 shilling and 3 pence: "Thank you!"

He stood up and handed one of the dumplings to Viscount Herbert. "Your Excellency, you should also try the Chinese dumplings. They taste very special. But be careful with the heat."

Viscount Herbert looked at the dumplings in front of him and did not refuse, but there was no cutlery, so he couldn't help but frowned.

Hopson reacted: "Please wait a moment, I'll get you a set of tableware." Then he went to the kitchen and brought him a set of tableware.

Viscount Herbert took a fork in one hand and a knife in the other, moved the steamed bun to the silver plate, and then cut it with the knife, and the juice inside flowed into the plate. He picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.

Hopson and Viscount Herbert were the only ones in the restaurant. Hopson was watching Viscount Herbert's reaction closely like a treasure-giver: "Sir, how do you feel?"

Viscount Herbert looked up at him: "Not bad!"

Hopson laughed happily when he heard this: "I think it's very delicious. Maybe I haven't eaten anything good before. I think this is the most delicious food I have ever eaten."

Viscount Herbert said nothing, but he had to admit that this was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten. He didn't expect that the two Chinese were good at cooking and could make such delicious food. Just now he thought that Hopson was being cheated by spending 5 pence on a steamed dumpling, but now he had to admit that it was worth the price.

Min Xi and Yun Ji were cleaning up in the kitchen at the moment. There was still a basket of dumplings left. Min Xi gave two to the cook: "Judy, please taste the food from our hometown."

Judy said, "Thank you, leave it there, I'll eat it later."

Min Xi and Yun Ji ate one each and gave the remaining two to the guy at the front desk. The guy at the front desk was a little hungry, so he grabbed one and took a bite. Then he stared at the steamed buns in his hand with wide eyes. What was it made of? How could it be so delicious! He stuffed the two buns into his mouth in a few bites, but still felt unsatisfied. He ran to the kitchen to see if there were any more. He saw two steamed buns on a plate: "Judy, do you want to eat these buns?"

Judy didn't care much at first, but when she heard the guy at the front desk ask this, she turned around and asked, "Do you want to eat?"

The guy at the front desk nodded vigorously: "Yes. If you don't want to eat it, let me eat it."

Judy thought for a moment and said, "Take one and leave one for me to taste."

Soon, Judy regretted her decision. The guy at the front desk heard her and grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth. This time he didn't rush to finish it in one bite, but tasted it slowly.

Judy's hands happened to be free, so she picked up the remaining dumplings and put them in her mouth. She took a bite, chewed it twice, and was stunned. She was a cook and knew the taste of food very well. She had been cooking for most of her life, but she realized one fact: she was not even half or even 30% as good as the two Chinese guests. How did they make the food so delicious?

As she tasted the dumplings bite by bite, tears flowed uncontrollably. She didn't know whether she cried because the dumplings were so delicious or because she was sad that her cooking skills were so far behind others.